LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Around thirty people have been charged after a six-month-long drug investigation focusing mainly on two housing complexes on the west side of the Wyoming Valley.
On Thursday, a drug bust led by multiple Luzerne County law enforcement agencies and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office took place at Hilltop Apartments and Eagle Ridge Apartments.
"We obtained information, criminal information, and made arrests for 16 different individuals yesterday all of whom were taken into custody arraigned before District Justice Joseph Spagnuolo, and held at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility," said District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce.
What took place on Thursday is phase five of this operation.
"In previous phases, we have arrested nine people, and there are still seven people wanted," says D.A Sanguedolce.
The charge some of these people are facing is the delivery of several drugs.
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"This ongoing operation has resulted in an arrest for the delivery of fentanyl, marijuana, methadone, cocaine, methamphetamine, and suboxone," noted D.A. Sanguedolce.
When asked if any of the people who were arrested were working in groups Chief Kotchik had this to say.
"There was definitely organizational stuff going on there we did we did seize guns involved in search warrants in large quantities of narcotics and currency," added Chief Kotchick.
This drug bust is not the end of the work local law enforcement is doing to keep drugs out of the community.
"We're going to continue to investigate and pursue this certainly isn't the end of drug trafficking in Luzerne county but I think this is a major dent in all the problems that we're seeing in this area so I think we're making pretty good progress," explained D.A. Sanguedolce.
Pictured above are those in custody and who is not in custody.
