Grant County involved in multi-state federal drug investigation
SPOKANE — Grant County law enforcement officials were involved in a multi-state federal drug investigation on Wednesday that resulted in 20 arrests.
Law enforcement in Grant County teamed up with federal investigators to take 20 individuals into custody in connection with a large scale methamphetamine distribution ring in Washington, Idaho and Montana. As a result, federal search warrants were served in Spokane, Moses Lake, Mattawa and north Idaho.
Local agencies involved in the takedown included the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Moses Lake Police Department, Moses Lake Regional Tactical Response Team (TRT), Tri-Cities Regional SWAT Team and Grant County’s Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team (INET), which is comprised of detectives from the GCSO, MLPD, Ephrata Police Department and Washington State Patrol.
“Partnerships between local and federal agencies are paramount to the success of major investigations such as this one,” Sheriff Tom Jones said. “Continued cooperation and teamwork is the foundation for future crime-fighting operations.”
In total, 75 firearms and 8 pounds of meth were seized on Wednesday. The takedown, dubbed “Operation Red File Takedown,” comes after a federal indictment that was handed down in the Eastern District of Washington earlier this month. The indictment itself charges several people with conspiracy to distribute meth from September 2016 through December 2017. Indictments include allegations that a person has committed a crime.
Wednesday’s effort was a part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. The OCDETF gives supplemental federal dollars to federal and state agencies that are involved in drug-related crime investigations. The OCDETF investigation is currently being done by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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