Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (SOS) is a brand new initiative by the federal government aimed at stopping the flow of opioids onto the streets of cities and towns across the country.
"It's a very aggressive and much-needed approach from the U.S. Attorney's Office," said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Alvin Winston with the Cleveland Division of the FBI.
The Department of Justice identified 10 counties across the country in desperate need of help to stop the deadly opioid crisis. Two of those counties are in Ohio, one in Northeast Ohio, Lorain County.
"Lorain fit a couple of different things we were looking for, it was a sizable population with a sizable corresponding rate of overdose deaths," said Justin Herdman, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
The DEA is embedded and laser-focused on Lorain County. Not only are agents working to arrest street-level dealers selling the potentially deadly mix of heroin and fentanyl or cocaine and fentanyl, but the feds are also targeting those supplying the dealers.
"We're identifying networks that are responsible for importing drugs into the U.S. and those counties," said Keith Martin, Assistant Special Agent in Charge DEA Cleveland.
The DEA and FBI are leading Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge while working with several local police departments in Lorain County.
"We're taking every opioid case federally," said Herdman. The end goal of Operation SOS is to see a decrease of overdose deaths in Lorain County added Herdman.
The 10 counties taking part in Operation SOS:
Lorain County, OH
Montgomery County, OH
Knox County, TN
Fayette County, KY
Cabell County, WV
Berkley County, WV
Cumberland County, ME
Sacramento County, CA
Washington County, PA
Hillsboro County, NH
