In the early hours of Wednesday, a multi-agency drug round-up led to the arrest of 29 people — and police are searching for more.
Members of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Franklin Police Department, Greenwood Police Department, Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office joined forces to serve several drug warrants stemming from joint investigations by JCSO, FPD and GPD. The operation led to the arrest of many individuals from across central Indiana, according to a joint news release.
JCSO, FPD and GPD routinely work together to combat drug issues in Johnson County. Sheriff Duane Burgess, Franklin Police Chief Kirby Cochran, Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison and Prosecutor Lance Hamner have formed a partnership to combat drugs within the county.
“Each agency has joined together to form a bigger narcotics investigation team,” Burgess, Cochran and Ison jointly said in the news release. “This aids in manpower issues and allows officers to work together to be more efficient.”
This drug roundup began several months ago, and the information obtained was given to the prosecutor’s office for charges. Of the 32 people who were wanted, 19 have been arrested and another 13 are still at large. Another 10 people who did not have warrants were also arrested during the operation.
Several of these individuals traveled to Johnson County to sell illegal narcotics. Two-thirds of those suspects are from outside Johnson County, officials said.
Eighteen people were from Indianapolis, seven were from Franklin, three were from Greenwood, two were from Camby, while there was one arrest each from Martinsville, Carmel, Columbus and New Whiteland, according to the news release.
“The members of the narcotics team are working to get those high-end dealers off of the streets of Johnson County,” officials said in the news release. “With the cooperation of each agency contributing manpower and resources we are able to conduct complex and effective drug investigations without overly disrupting normal law enforcement operations.”
Several agencies assisted in locating and arresting suspects involved in the round-up, including JCSO, FPD and GPD. The Greenwood and Bargersville fire departments, the Bargersville, Edinburgh, Carmel and Martinsville police departments, and the Marion County and Shelby County sheriff’s offices assisted.
The Johnson County SWAT team was also called to a home in Greenwood to serve a warrant on one man arrested: Robert Wood. SWAT was called for Wood because he has resisted arrest before and met police criteria that trigger additional backup for warrant service, Burgess said. Two others were also arrested at the home.
