An undercover law enforcement operation between the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and other local partner agencies led to the arrest of 24 individuals.
In addition to the arrest, authorities seized a wide-ranging variety of potentially lethal narcotics, including methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and prescription pills.
According to the TBI, the undercover drug purchases began in early 2021. Individuals aged 22 to 71 years old were arrested over the course of the sting.
“On March 14th, the Grundy County Grand Jury heard the case, and returned indictments charging multiple individuals on various drug-related charges, including the possession for resale and the distribution of illegal narcotics,” a press release from the agency states.
Charges for the various individuals range from the Manufacture, Delivery, Sale of Schedule II drug to the Delivery, Sale of Schedule III drug.
Similarly, an operation in East Tennessee led to the arrests of 11 individuals allegedly connected to illegal drug activity. Officials targeted numerous locations connected to drug overdoses and deaths.
“I’m proud of the officers that worked long and hard gathering intelligence and then conducting this operation, and thankful for the support of our neighboring law enforcement agencies,” Sevierville Police Department Chief Joseph Manning said. “Our residents deserve to be able to live without illegal drug activity in their neighborhood and all of the associated problems. We will continue to investigate illegal drug activity and work with our area law enforcement partners to keep our community safe.”
Another two-year drug investigation by the TBI resulted in 39 indictments for individuals connected to a drug trafficking organization.
According to the Tennessee Department of Health, the state is one of the hardest hit by the opioid epidemic. In 2017, 1,268 individuals in the state died from opioid overdoses.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
