MINGO DRUG SWEEP Task Force Targets Dozens Suspected Of Illegal Drug Use
Reported by: Kennie Bass
Videographer: Matt Durrett
Web Producer: Kennie Bass
Reported: Feb. 4, 2013 6:04 PM EST
Updated: Feb. 4, 2013 6:18 PM EST
EYEWITNESS ONLINE WEBCAST VIDEO C L I C K T O P L A Y
Delbarton
, Mingo County
, West Virginia
Pills, cash and guns from an alleged dealer line the table at White's Sign Shop in Taylorville. 64-year old George White is one of 52 people charged with multiple counts of delivery of a controlled substance. The suspects were nabbed as part of "Operation Zero Tolerance" in which a drug task force made up of several agencies busted 19 different locations throughout Mingo and Wyoming Counties.
"I think we're gonna make a major dent in it today," Commander Dave Rockel with the Mingo County Drug Task Force said. "It's going to stop a lot of traffickers. I'm sure there are people in these communities, of course we're not gonna get everybody, it's not going to be a quick fix but it's going to make a major impact on the community."
Investigators say White was selling oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine and Zanax out of his business. They found $10,000 dollars worth of prescription pills from seven different states.
"It's a major problem," Sheriff Eugene Crum of Mingo County said. "You know, it's killing our kids. We're finding that now that some of these drug dealers are actually giving it to middle school students and high school students to get them addicted."
A nearby business owner says he is very pleased to see an alleged drug dealer brought down by the law.
"I think it's wonderful," Lovel Estep, Jr. of Dottie's Diner said. "I think it's wonderful. People are killing themselves daily because they get hooked on pills and stuff like that and they've got to have them."
Sheriff Crum says the sweep is the first step in a renewed effort to fight prescription drug abuse and promises that another one could happen at any time.
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Kennie Bass
