Caddo-Shreveport

Narcotics Unit

Cindy Chadwick, CSO Kacee Hargrave, SPD

318-681-0666 318-673-6932

For immediate release, July 15, 2004

Date: July 15, 2004

27 people arrested in large-scale operation

Caddo Parish Sheriff Steve Prator and Shreveport Police Chief Mike Campbell announced today that the Caddo-Shreveport Narcotics Unit conducted a major street narcotics operation July 14, 2004.

This operation targeted street corner narcotics dealers throughout Caddo Parish and Shreveport. The Caddo-Shreveport Narcotics Unit, assisted by agents from the DEA Task Force, FBI Task Force, and Shreveport Police Office of Special Investigations, fanned out throughout the city and parish in three undercover and arrest teams.

These teams targeted known and reported locations where narcotics were being sold openly by street narcotics dealers. Agents posing as buyers infiltrated these areas, where they made contact with the dealers and then made small purchases of cocaine and marijuana. The undercover agents were then followed up by an arrest team who moved in and arrested the dealer.

The operation resulted in 27 persons arrested in the 12-hour operation. These arrests occurred as far north in the Parish as Rodessa, and south to Keithville. The arrests from the city were from all four police patrol areas.

This was the first major city/parish street operation of its kind, although the unit conducts such smaller operations on a weekly basis. This operation was designed to hit the city-parish street dealers with as much force as possible at one time.

Agents considered the operation a huge success in attacking the ever present street narcotics problem. Agents vow to keep the pressure up by following up with other weekly undercover operations, along with similar major operations planned for the coming weeks and months.

Sheriff Prator and Chief Campbell would like to thank the citizens of Shreveport and Caddo Parish for their assistance by calling in and providing information about street narcotics sales.

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