A lot of dangerous drugs and guns are off our local streets now, thanks to a six-month-long investigation.
Cleveland Police and the FBI helped lead the task force that ended up hitting three different cities in Cuyahoga County and seizing millions worth of fentanyl products. The seizure has been called one of the largest in county history.
Part of the drug bust happened in Westlake. It’s a city where Manny Kidola’s kids go to school. He told us he’s a nurse who’s treated children who’ve had fentanyl in their vape pens. “And a lot of times they end up overdosing even at schools, even at parks thinking it’s just a regular vape,” said Kidola.
He also said he’s had family members die from overdoses, and the overall fentanyl problem is an uphill battle. “It’s something that’s going to be a lot to fight in these next couple of years,” said Kidola. “But so far, they are making great progress.”
Part of that progress is that drug bust on May 14 that was a coordinated effort in Cleveland, Highland Heights, and Westlake. “If you’re coming to Cleveland to sell drugs or bring drugs in here, the Cleveland Division of Police, along with their partners, are going to find you,” said Sgt. Wilfredo Diaz from Cleveland Police.
Police told us they rounded up 65 kilograms, which is about 134 pounds, of suspected fentanyl pills and power in addition to guns as well. “It’s great to know the hard work and the dangerous work that the detectives and our partners federal, state, and local put in to cases like these,” said Interim-Commander Kevin Kincaid from Cleveland Police.
The FBI put out a statement saying in part that these crimes “endanger countless people with potentially deadly consequences.”
Just this month, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office reported last year alone more than 3500 fentanyl-related opioid deaths happened in our state. That’s down a bit from 2022, but still a major problem.
“The amount of lives that were potentially saved because of this seizure…I think it’s important to highlight that,” said Diaz.
The recent bust took about 600,000 pills and $9.5 million worth of drugs off the streets. It’s that kind of money that keeps drug dealers wanting to get more customers.
“When people want to get drugs it’s very, very hard to stop,” said Kidola. “So, we need more and more people and more funding to fight these kind of problems in our community.”
The names of the suspects have not been released yet, but they have been arrested and they are awaiting serious charges.
Earlier this year, the state said it had distributed one million fentanyl test strips as part of its efforts to combat the opioid crisis.
RELATED: Gov. DeWine announces 1 million fentanyl test strips distributed throughout Ohio
