Police have arrested a Wallsend woman at a Hunter pharmacy where they allege she was trying to use a fraudulent prescription.
The 27-year-old was arrested after staff alerted police while the woman was still inside the Shoal Bay pharmacy on Wednesday.
Police attended the scene and during a search of the woman's vehicle, claim to have found a large amount of prescription medication obtained from 16 pharmacies across the Central Coast, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Hunter Valley and Port Stephens areas.
The woman was taken to Nelson Bay Police station and charged with 16 counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception.
She was refused bail by police and placed before Newcastle Court where she was granted conditional bail.
