Eight people with ties to pain management clinics in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette have been indicted on federal drug charges, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten announced Monday.

Those indicted by a federal grand jury in a 17-count indictment handed down Friday include: Candace Wilson of Baton Rouge, Ples Dobbins of Clayton, Louisiana; Thadrian Johnson of Hahnville, Monica Jones of Baton Rouge, Joseph Braud of Lafayette, Deshawn Whatley of Baton Rouge, Jimmie Lee Winters and Joshua Williams.

The suspects are accused of running "pill mills" - writing and filling prescriptions for narcotics and other controlled substances and profiting from that practice.

Four of the eight indicted are also accused of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.

Letten said the indictment is the end result of an investigation that started in 2003.

Two of the four clinics involved were based in New Orleans. Stanton Trinity Urgent Care and Southern Discount Drugs were washed away by the storm and never re-opened.

The other clinics are in Baton Rouge and Lafayette and were shut down because of the investigation some time ago, he said.

Letten wouldn't reveal how many victims fell prey to the scheme. He said the clinics would only take cash from the patients, and how much they paid depended on the type of pain medicine they wanted.

The indictment also alleged that some of the defendants involved dispensed drugs like Ecstacy on the side.

"For these people addicted to these drugs they're seeking it and there's a market for people who want to open an illegitimate clinic," said Patrick Warner of the DEA. "Historically there's been a problem of it here in New Orleans. I think the storm made many of them go away, but some have gone and re-established in the Baton Rouge and Lafayette areas," he said.

Letten won't say how the investigation started, but said that similar cases in the past have been sparked by tips from people who have a relative addicted to drugs and whose relatives seek out clinics to get their fix.