Area police announce 135 drug-related arrests
In a four-day crackdown on drugs across a five-parish area, a multi-agency task force collaborated to make 135 arrests and seize more than $400,000 in street value of narcotics in South Louisiana.
Area police announce 135 drug-related arrests In a four-day crackdown on drugs across a five-parish area, a multi-agency task force collaborated to make 135 arrests and seize more than $400,000 in street value of narcotics in South Louisiana. Check out this story on theadvertiser.com: https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/acadiana/2014/05/20/area-police-announce-spate-drug-related-arrests/9328613/
Katie de la Rosa Published 12:13 p.m. CT May 20, 2014 | Updated 5:06 p.m. CT May 21, 2014
Scott Police Chief Chad Leger speaks about the most recent drug bust. (Photo: Katie de la Rosa, The Daily Advertiser )Buy Photo
In a four-day crackdown on drugs across a five-parish area, a multi-agency task force last week collaborated to make 135 arrests and seize more than $400,000 in narcotics, Scott Police Chief Chad Leger announced Tuesday.
The Lafayette Metro Narcotics Task Force on May 14-17 led the operation, named A Clean Streets Project, which recruited 20-25 additional officers from 17 different agencies to assist in the widespread drug purge, Leger said at a press conference.
Narcotics recovered last week boast a combined street value worth nearly quadruple that of the drugs seized during a similar four-day bust in January. The May operation raked in about 4,458 grams of six different drugs valued at $402,064.50, whereas the January bust obtained $97,000 in narcotics. The monetary difference could indicate either fewer drugs on the street in January or a much larger targeted area in May.
At a street value of $381,567, cocaine represented May's biggest financial haul. Of that, Leger said, Louisiana State Police seized more than 8.2 pounds. Cocaine also had a higher worth than the other confiscated drugs in the operation earlier this year. Valued at $52,000, cocaine made up more than half of the total seized in January.
Last week, 33.9 grams of methamphetamine worth $6.780 were seized overall, with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Team for Advanced Response responsible for acquiring nearly half of the grams.
Arrests from the last week's operation equal 135, a significant drop from January's 251. The number of citations — drug arrests and charges delivered during traffic stops — also declined, falling to 165 last week from 179 earlier this year.
Collectively, the bust apprehended $54,614.00 in illegally used property, mostly currency, and the Broussard Police Department alone obtained $52,069 of that, as well as three grams of marijuana, at a single stop. That marks a $31,000 greater value than the recovered property in January.
Agencies last week recovered $24,150 in stolen property, one truck and one handgun, $10,000 less than the January operation that claimed one vehicle and four guns.
The agencies' unified effort against drugs marked the fourth time they teamed up since 2013. Day-to-day operations remain the same during busts, Leger said, because an increase in manpower is the only requirement to conduct an operation. The extra officers focus solely on drug arrests, instead of diverting their attention to routine domestic and burglary calls.
"With an agency of this quality and caliber, it sends a message," Leger said. "We're letting them know we're coming in with force."
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