A two year drug probe led to dozens of arrests in the Triad. The U.S. Attorney's Office made the announcement Monday.
Thirty people have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Greensboro on charges of drug trafficking and illegal weapons possession.
Randy Jones with the Alamance County Sheriff's Office says most of the defendants reside in Alamance and Guilford Counties.
“We are already seeing a dramatic effect as far as information circulating in the community regarding drug trafficking and criminal activity,” says Jones.
“A number of the individuals that have been indicted are believed to be or alleged to be narcotic king pins for the area involved in large-scale drug trafficking activities or have been in this area for some time. There is also several of them that have alleged gang connections and gang affiliations.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration identified Alamance County as a major crossroads and distribution point for narcotics throughout the southeast. Jones says several police departments are forming a new division called ANET, or Alamance Narcotics Enforcement Team. He says the group includes officers from all eight municipalities, Elon campus police and the sheriff's department.
“Everyone has been cross sworn through the sheriff's department also, so there is full county-wide authority for everyone, which gives them the flexibility to move across the county without concern of inner county borders,” says Jones.
Alamance County has also joined with other cities in the Triad, as well federal agencies, to combat drug trafficking in the area.
The joint investigation included police in Burlington, Eden, Graham, Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem and Guilford County. Several federal agencies including the FBI and U.S. Marshals also helped with the investigation.
Follow Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news
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