CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Nearly 30 pounds of methamphetamine and other dangerous controlled substances are off the streets now and in the hands of the state.
On Wednesday, Governor Jim Justice announced the successful outcome of Operation October Sky, a large-scale initiative to combat West Virginia’s ongoing drug crisis.
Over 30 different law enforcement agencies from across the state came together between October 7-14 to conduct the operation.
It led to the seizure of more than 28 pounds of meth, nearly half a pound of fentanyl, 18 fentanyl pills along with other dangerous substances such as heroine and cocaine. In addition, the week-long operation resulted in 70 felony arrests and 176 misdemeanor arrests, as well as the confiscation of 30 firearms and over $31,000 in cash linked to the selling of illegal drugs.
During Wednesday’s media briefing, Justice said he was really proud of what the aggressive operation led by his administration was able to accomplish, because it brings them one step closer to tackling a major problem that’s being inflicted on the state and the entire nation.
Gov. Jim Justice
“It’s really probably happening for the most part, because of this terrible invasion of folks we let come across our southern border,” Justice said. “We all know of the terrible consequences that we’ve all suffered, and many, many in a very significantly worse way.”
“We can’t ignore how this serious issue fuels the drug epidemic and the absolute chaos we’re facing all across this nation. But, we will not stand for it here in West Virginia. We will continue to tackle these challenges head-on,” said Justice.
This marks the second year the West Virginia State Police has collaborated with local law enforcement agencies to conduct such a major operation that is responsible for disrupting critical drug trafficking networks.
Other units involved included the West Virginia Fusion Center and the West Virginia National Guard Counter Drug program who assigned Intelligence Analyst teams to utilize specific data to target routes of travel of the drug traffickers and their modes of operation. These analysts gathered, processed, and shared crucial information with the participating agencies.
Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Rob Cunningham said the collaborative efforts of these units and agencies are making a lasting impact in the fight against the drug epidemic.
“We are really able to make a dent in this fight against illegal drugs,” Cunningham said. “In this initiative we had 27 different agencies throughout the state of West Virginia that participated, not only just the agencies themselves, but we also had the drug units working with us.”
West Virginia Intelligence Fusion Center Director Jack Luikart said these operations are becoming more and more efficient as the amounts of dangerous drugs are getting more extensive.
“Seizures of the drugs were up significantly from years prior, the increases in the amounts is significant,” Luikart said.
He said what is happening is that the people who were transporting ounces of meth or fentanyl are now transporting pounds.
Luikart said executing seizures has become a daily routine for these drug task units and law enforcement agencies beyond these special kinds of operations.
He said the Charleston Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit executed a search warrant just days prior to Operation October Sky where they seized 8 and a half pounds of fentanyl. Luikart said that alone saves a significant number of lives.
“You can imagine the impact of that amount of fentanyl getting on the street and being distributed out here to people, and the possibility of death as a result of that,” said Luikart.
He said the operation sheds light on the many challenges of drug trafficking in the state, particularly in regards to the influence of foreign cartels bringing in the significant amounts of illicit drugs.
But Justice said West Virginia is tightening up on its drug enforcement operations one step at a time.
“What we want to do is make it more and more difficult for people to do bad things in the state of West Virginia, we’re going to stand up everywhere we can to ensure that absolutely happens.”