Sarasota drug crackdown ends with 81 arrests
Photo via SCSO
SARASOTA (FOX 13) - A major bust in Sarasota County lands more than 80 people in jail. Deputies say Operation Spring Cleaning was a six-month long crackdown on drug manufacturers, dealers and traffickers.
Not only did deputies arrest 81 people, they confiscated more than 18 pounds of controlled substances and at least four firearms.
It's arrests like these, they say, that will help put an end to the heroin and opioid epidemic and send a strong message.
"If you come to this county and you push drugs and you impact our community in a negative way, there are going to be consequences of that. And several other sheriffs across our state agree and the Florida Sheriffs Association put this together, and I think we've had a significant impact on drug trafficking just with this operation,” offered SCSO’s Colonel Kurt Hoffman.
Thirty-four other counties participated. In total, nearly 5,000 people were arrested. More than 12-million grams of drugs confiscated, as well as more than 1,600 weapons.