BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – Eighty-two drug dealers and traffickers were arrested this week in a three-day crackdown to help curb opioid abuse and the rise in related deaths, authorities said on Friday.
The Broward Sheriff's Office's Operation Bad Dose was carried out with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, the U.S. Marshals, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, State Probation and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.
"This devastating crisis knows no bounds and affects individuals of every race, color and socioeconomic status," Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said in a statement. "It's infecting our neighborhoods, poisoning our children and filling our morgues. We are committed to ending this alarming epidemic and saving lives."
Authorities said the operation took place over several months in which undercover detectives utilized tips from informants and the public to identify people who they said were bringing heroin into the U.S. and the dealers selling it on the streets of Broward County.
Deputies said the arrests came after authorities executed 14 search warrants.
Authorities said 29,600 grams of narcotics were prevented from being distributed and 15 guns and more than $151,000 were seized.
Heroin trafficking of 28 grams or more in the state of Florida carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years in prison.