PHOENIX — More than 20 people are in custody and a large amount of illegal drugs, money, and firearms are now in the possession of law enforcement after a multi-agency drug probe.
Phoenix police, along with the Arizona Attorney General's Office, Phoenix Division of the Drug Enforcement Bureau, and Arizona HIDTA announced results from "Operation Double Down" Thursday morning.
You can watch the press conference in the player below:
From April to November 2024, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes says "Operation Double Down" led to the "dismantling" of a criminal organization that is believed to have trafficked large volumes of several illegal drugs into the area.
Police say roughly 1.7 million fentanyl pills have been seized in the operation, along with fentanyl powder, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin. The street value of everything seized is at least $5 million, according to police.
Multiple officials say in the last several years, about half of all the fentanyl seized in the United States was seized in Arizona. Mayes added that teamwork between agencies has led to the arrests and seizures made in the operation.
Phoenix Police Chief Michael Sullivan says on average, about three people a day are overdosing on fentanyl in Maricopa County alone.
He emphasized that the city is a safer place because of the work done in the "Operation Double Down" investigation.
