Cocaine can still be bought in Gastonia, but vice officers believe they put a dent in the pipeline with a large bust late Thursday night.
Narcotics investigators seized about 3 kilograms of cocaine — worth about $300,000 on the streets — and arrested five people on trafficking charges in an investigation that involved around 20 officers from the city, Gaston County and State Bureau of Investigation.
What started out as a drug investigation eight months ago grew as officers conducted surveillance, made undercover buys and started making connections to a network, said Gastonia Police Sgt. Don Roper, who helps oversee the department’s vice and narcotics division.
“These were some pretty worthy targets to go after,” Roper said. “We’re pretty happy to get these guys.”
Officers also seized guns – including one assault rifle – and cash. Officers finished Thursday night’s work around 6:30 a.m. Friday, and were out again Friday afternoon so exact information was not immediately available.
And while Roper declined to go into specifics, he described dogged police work as officers put together a complicated case against the five, all of whom have $500,000 bonds in addition to holds on their release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement based on questions about their legal status in this country.
http://www.gastongazette.com/news/cocaine-45024-gastonia-bust.html
I have wondered long and hard if the SPLC bread and butter for their efforts is a little snort of the white powder before they start the case research. I would bet they do, while they would resist any effort to put them back on the street.