Drug bust nets four

Jun. 5—TAZEWELL, Va. — The Tazewell County Narcotics Task Force has arrested four people on drug related charges and confiscated $1.5 million in drugs along with cash, firearms, body armor and knives.

Commonwealth's Attorney Chris Plaster said at a press conference Friday morning in Tazewell those people will not be identified because of connections with a drug cartel that could pose danger to their families who were not involved.

Plaster said the arrests were the result of Operation Mouse Trap that began in January and targeted drug dealers, using undercover police officers and confidential informants.

"The focus has been tracing the drugs back up the food chain," he said "We worked to find those introducing narcotics into our county."

Four targets were identified and eventually arrested.

The drugs included 33.5 pounds of methamphetamine along with 3.5 ounces of heroin, 7 grams of crack cocaine, 10 grams of psilocybin and prescription drugs.

The Task Force also confiscated $125,000 in cash, 51 firearms, body armor, ammunition and knives.

One of the suspects alone had $46,000 in cash, 11 pounds of meth, 7 grams of crack cocaine and 37 firearms, Plaster said.

Each defendant could be facing up to life in prison, he added.

"Just to have this amount of dangerous narcotics off the street is an amazing blow dealt to the drug trade here in Tazewell County," he said. "One of the targets of the operation confessed that he alone purchased up to $50,000 per week in methamphetamine just to turn around and sell that amount for profit."

"To the law-abiding citizens of Tazewell County that are sick and tired of seeing our county ravaged by addiction, we are working very hard to make the problem better, day by day, to get these dealers off the street," Plaster said, telling the dealers: "We will find you, we will arrest you, you will pay for your crimes... All of us are dedicated to winning this fight, this battle against the crippling addiction that is killing our local communities. We will not rest until we are successful."

Tazewell County Sheriff Brian Hieatt said all agencies are working together and he is proud of the work the task force has done.

"There are a lot of people who are now upset about the work we are doing in the county," he said of the impact of the arrests on those who deal drugs.

Hieatt said the amount of meth found in the bust is indicative of the trend.

"Meth is quickly overtaking the epidemic of prescription drugs," he said. "This drug is highly addictive."

It can also cause hallucinations and violence, he added.

Richlands Police Chief Jerry Gilbert said the confiscated drugs means lives may be saved.

"For us on the street, what you are seeing is lives being saved," he said. "Our officers have to administer Narcan (treatment for drug overdoses) on a regular weekly basis, sometimes on a daily basis. It is hard to say how many lives have been saved (with the arrests and confiscation)."

Plaster said meth overdoses happen primarily because it is being mixed with fentanyl, a powerful, deadly synthetic opioid that can be up to 100 times more potent than morphine.

A user can accidentally ingest fentanyl without knowing and overdose, he said.

Plaster also said the information released about the suspects has to be minimal.

"The defendants have families not involved," he said, and drug cartels can often target them when an arrest is made. "Typically, that is the way the cartels do business. It could hurt the families."

Plaster said very little information is being released about the cartels at this time.

"Yes, they were in Tazewell County," he said, and made some "drops" here, but most of the drug exchanges were made outside the county.

He said the name Operation Mouse Trap was chosen because, "just like the mouse observing the trap, realizing what might be at risk, these dealers have continued their reckless, illegal behavior despite the clear risks that it posed to them, and, eventually, due to their greed and the hard work of our Narcotics Task Force, they fell into our snare."

Plaster thanked the Tazewell County Narcotics Task Force for their "many, many hours of hard work and all of the individual agencies that contribute to the Task Force. Specifically, I would like to thank The Tazewell County Sheriff's Office, Town of Richlands Police Department, Town of Tazewell Police Department, Town of Bluefield Police Department and the Virginia State Police."

— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com