Task force: More arrests made, more people wanted in major Central KY drug trafficking bust
Authorities have made more arrests in a drug trafficking investigation that previously yielded more than two dozen detainments, the director of the Bluegrass Narcotics Task Force confirmed Monday.
The first arrests were announced last week, with the Paris Police Department confirming 28 people were charged with drug trafficking offenses after a months-long investigation by the task force and Kentucky State Police. More people have been arrested since then, according to Mark Burden, director of the task force. Burden said officials are still looking for another 8 to 10 people.
Some of the wanted individuals have moved out of the area and the investigation was ongoing Monday. Burden said he believes there are some connections to these trafficking cases and cartels, though he didn’t elaborate further on possible connections.
“We are in constant communication with federal partners: DEA, ATF, sometimes the FBI,” Burden said.
Central Kentucky is considered a “regional” hub for drug activity tied to cartels, federal officials previously told the Herald-Leader. This is largely due to access to both I-75 and I-64 in Lexington, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Resident complaints prompted months-long investigation
The investigation in Bourbon County began about six months ago after the task force received numerous tips and complaints from citizens informing them about drug activity in certain areas in Bourbon County. Burden said the task force also received complaints from parents who said their kids overdosed or died as a result of drug activity.
Community organizations complained about drug activity near schools, according to Burden.
“We had a lady whose daughter had passed away at the Colonial Motel, she was concerned about the people who were trafficking,” Burden said. “She provided names to that as well as concerned citizens in the neighborhoods.”
Burden said the task force focused a lot of its investigation at the Colonial Motel, which is located on Main Street and is near Paris Elementary School.
No guns were seized during the investigation, but investigators collected 80 to 90 grams of marijuana and some prescription narcotics, plus about 150 grams of an unknown substance believed to be cocaine or fentanyl.
Several of the suspects were accused of selling carfentanil, a drug used in veterinary medicine which is 100 times more potent than fentanyl, according to Paris police. Carfentanil is considered an analog of fentanyl and is typically used as a tranquilizer for large animals.
The suspects would also mix fentanyl with heroin, pills, cocaine, methamphetamine and ecstasy, according to Paris police.
The task force is made up of investigators from the Paris Police Department, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, the Cynthiana Police Department and the Bourbon County Sheriff’s Office. Burden said it dedicates its resources towards investigating people who traffic more addictive drugs in communities, such as fentanyl, heroin, crack-cocaine, cocaine and methamphetamine.
Burden said more work will be done with this investigation and the task force will continue to investigate future complaints of drug activity.
“It’s kind of like a dam, you’re holding back the water. If there wasn’t a dam there it would flood your communities totally,” Burden said.
