Dozens of people were nabbed in a three-day sting dubbed “Operation Bad Dose” to crack down on opioid trafficking in Broward County, officials announced Friday.
NBC 6 tagged along with Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies who hit the front lines of the drug epidemic in South Florida. The focus was on heroin and fentanyl, which have plagued local neighborhoods greatly in recent years. ATF and U.S. Marshals were also involved in the operation.
Armed swat units swarmed an area in Fort Lauderdale to round up suspected heroin traffickers and sellers. Deputies had their guns drawn as they corralled suspects.
"We're really concentrating on the heroin situation along with the fentanyl that's being mixed with the heroin which is resulting in a lot of the overdoses that are taking place,” said Sergeant Dan Fitzpatrick, BSO. Undercover deputies had previously purchased drugs that were allegedly being sold from homes they targeted Friday, police said.
On Friday, one person arrest was made and others were detained. In total, 82 drug suspects were taken into custody, BSO said in a press release.
Fourteen search warrants were executed, more than 29,600 grams of narcotics were stopped from being distributed and 15 firearms and more than $151,000 were seized, according to a police press release.
In 2016, opioids caused 582 deaths in Broward County, the Medical Examiner’s office said.
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“This devastating crisis knows no bounds and affects individuals of every race, color and socioeconomic status. It’s infecting our neighborhoods, poisoning our children and filling our morgues,” Sheriff Scott Israel said. “We are committed to ending this alarming epidemic and saving lives.”
