(a) The staff of the office of inspector general may include law enforcement officers, as defined in § 39-11-106(a) and qualified as defined in § 38-8-106, who have successfully completed a training course approved by the Tennessee peace officer standards and training commission, including surveillance training.
(b) Any duly authorized law enforcement officer who has been specifically designated by the inspector general to enforce this part is authorized and empowered to go armed while on active duty engaged in enforcing this part; and is authorized to make arrests for offenses involving criminal fraud and abuse of the TennCare program and any other violations of state criminal law related to the operation of TennCare. Any such person is also authorized and empowered to execute search warrants and do all acts incident thereto in the same manner as search warrants may be executed by sheriffs and other peace officers.