Tuolumne County SWAT assists in major drug sting
The Tuolumne County Sheriff’s SWAT team helped Modesto police serve a search warrant last week at a home in Tuolumne County as part of a monthslong investigation that dismantled a major drugtrafficking network in the San Joaquin Valley and surrounding areas.
A news release from the Modesto Police Department on Friday announced the conclusion of the long-term probe that involved nine search warrants being served across Stanislaus, Tuolumne and San Joaquin counties, which netted 14 arrests and hundreds of pounds of drugs.
Modesto Police Officer Kalani Souza, acting spokesperson for the department, told The Union Democrat on Monday that the department was not yet releasing the identities of any of the 14 suspects.
Souza confirmed that one of the suspects was arrested in Tuolumne County but is a resident of Stanislaus County. He also confirmed that one of the nine places raided as part of the investigation was in Tuolumne County, but no contra
band was found there.
“That is all the information I can release at this point,” Souza stated in an email.
Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Deputy Ashley Boujikian, spokeswoman for the office, confirmed the Sheriff’s SWAT team assisted in the operation by helping to serve a search warrant within the county on Nov. 14.
Boujikian said any additional details would have to come from the Modesto Police Department as the lead investigating agency.
The Modesto Police Department’s news release stated the organization that was dismantled served as the main supply source for several drug dealers operating in Stanislaus, Tuolumne, San Joaquin and Merced counties, as well as the Bay Area.
Recovered during the searches were 451 pounds of methamphetamine, 160 gallons of liquid methamphetamine that’s equivalent to as much as 1,400 pounds of finished product, 11.5 pounds of cocaine, 23 pounds of heroin, 300 fentanyl pills, 26 pounds of marijuana, $155,717 cash, and nine firearms, the release stated.
Charges that the arrested suspects face include possession of drugs with intent to distribute, as well as several firearms-related violations, the Modesto Police Department release stated.
The investigation was led by the Modesto Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit, with the assistance of the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, the FBI, Merced Area Gang and Narcotic Enforcement Team (MAGNET), and the DEA.
Other agencies credited with helping to serve search warrants during the investigation were the San Joaquin County SWAT team, Stanislaus County Sheriff’s air support unit, Tuolumne County SWAT team, Oakdale Police Department, FBI, DEA, and the Stanislaus County DA’S Office.
“Without their assistance, none of this would have been possible,” the release stated.