HUNTINGTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A joint law enforcement operation on September 11 successfully dismantled an armed drug trafficking organization in Huntington, officials announced Monday.
The effort involved the Huntington Police Department Violent Crime Drug Task Force, the ATF Louisville Division’s Charleston Field Office, the FBI, and the U.S. Marshals.
The investigation led to seven defendants being charged federally, including four in a 27-count indictment, and two additional defendants charged in state court.
Authorities also seized 27 firearms and recovered more than a half pound of dangerous drugs, including carfentanil, fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and crack cocaine.
“This case is proof of what happens when proactive local police work is backed by strong federal partnerships. Our officers worked shoulder to shoulder with federal agencies to target the people driving violence in Huntington,” Huntington Police Chief Phil Watkins said.
“By acting before more harm could be done, we’ve taken guns and lethal drugs off the street and made our neighborhoods safer.”
