BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – An operation facilitated last week by the US Marshal of the Southern District of WV in conjunction with several police and sheriff’s departments throughout the state has resulted in the seizing of a vast amount of elicit substances, including hundreds of grams of the deadly drug, Fentanyl.
According to US Marshal of Southern WV Michael T. Baylous, the West Virginia CUFFED Task Force carried out Operation True Optics over the course of a five-day span from June 26, 2023, to June 30, 2023.
The expansive operation comprised 40 task force members and 20 law enforcement agencies, and resulted in the felony arrest of 48 individuals considered to be violent fugitives.
“You hear a lot today about ‘optics,’ whether it’s in business or whether it’s in law enforcement, you hear that word used quite a bit,” explained Marshal Baylous of the initiative’s designation. “Operation True Optics was our operation to take light into those dark areas where fugitives like to hide, and were very successful with this operation.”
Greenbrier County Sheriff Bruce Sloan, a department leader directly involved in the operation, revealed that the sweep led to the confiscation of 249.62 grams of fentanyl, 98.39 grams of methamphetamine, 12 grams of crack cocaine, 11.43 grams of marijuana, 5 firearms from prohibited persons, and $182,187 in U.S. currency.
“I’d like to express our appreciation to Marshal Baylous and the United States Marshal Service for their putting together this operation,” said Sheriff Sloan. “As Marshal Bayless said, the operation was very successful and we’re appreciative all the agencies and the cooperation from all that were involved in this.”
Additional charges and forthcoming arrests stemming from the operation should be anticipated as well, according to Sloan.
Raleigh County Sheriff Jim Canaday commended that effective communication and cooperation between agencies which made the operation possible.
“The cooperation between the agencies I think is paramount to the success of an operation like this,” said Sheriff Canaday.
“There were over 40 arrests; These are all violent crimes and we were able to – through the allocation of resources – use task force officers from other agencies that have the manpower to actually go out and dedicate five days to to finding some of these violent criminals.”
Sheriff Canaday highlighted some notable attested made during the sweep, including Harry Burks from Raleigh County for Kidnapping and Wanton Endangerment, Henry Scales on a First-Degree Robbery and Malicious Assault warrant out of Fayette County, and Chris Johnson of Parkersburg for First Degree Murder.
Assistance was also provided in the initiative by the U.S. Mashal Service of the Eastern District of Kentucky. The Drug Task Force is currently determining the potential origins of the substances seized throughout the sweep, including whether the substances in question are part of the ongoing issue of drugs coming into West Virginia from neighboring states.
Greenbrier County Sheriff Sloan noted the significance not only of securing the violent offenders targeted in the initiative, but also in ridding the community of the excessive amount of drugs seized throughout the operation.
“It’s one thing to arrest the individuals, that’s obviously what our primary purpose was. But to additionally get the drugs and the firearms off the streets is something that’s beneficial as well,” said Sloan. “Any amount of drugs that we can take off the street that does not wind up in the hands of the other people is certainly going to be beneficial, and one of our goals is to do that. So, that’s something we’re very appreciative of, and we’re appreciative of all the officers involved in doing that.”
Deputy Chief of Police for the City of Beckley, David Allard concurs that unification and coordination between departments and agencies creates more opportunity for success in keeping communities safer, stating, “Anything that we can do with the [Beckley] Police Department to join forces with other agencies to make our city safer, we want to do.”
