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PROVO — Members of a group that police believe had been making more than $300,000 a month in heroin and cocaine trafficking in Utah were rounded up by numerous county, state and federal officers Tuesday.
Eight search warrants were served simultaneously early Tuesday by more than 75 law enforcers from the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force, Unified Police Department, Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Fourteen people had been arrested as of Tuesday afternoon and booked into the Utah County Jail, mainly for investigation of drug possession with intent to distribute.
"This investigation's been going on a little under a year," said Lt. Phil Murphy, of the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force. "This particular group we've known about, we've targeted them, been watching them; so it was a fairly lengthy joint investigation with multiple agencies."
The take from the bust was more than 5 pounds of heroin, 2 1/2 pounds of cocaine, $173,000 in cash, four guns and 8 vehicles.
"With guns, cash, cars and suspects, it's a very entrenched organization," Murphy said.
Investigators say the arrests have "resulted in the disruption of a multi-state drug trafficking organization operating along the Wasatch Front."
The investigation started when detectives conducted surveillance on the ongoing problem of people driving from Utah County to Salt Lake County to buy drugs.
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Written by Pat Reavy and Richard Piatt.
