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24 arrested in drug trafficking investigation in southern Oregon

Officers seized 37 guns, 40 pounds of meth and a quantity of fentanyl that could have yielded more than 144,000 lethal doses.
Credit: Oregon State Police

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — An investigation into what authorities described as a major drug trafficking group based in southern Oregon resulted in two dozen arrests and seizures of guns, fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs, law enforcement agencies said Wednesday.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Oregon State Police and the Grants Pass Police Department were among the agencies involved in the probe, which lasted more than a year. The agencies announced the investigation at a joint press conference in Grants Pass on Wednesday.

As part of the investigation, 24 people were arrested in Oregon on Tuesday, authorities said.

Officers seized 37 guns, 2,000 grams of meth, 636 grams of fentanyl pills and 52 grams of fentanyl, Oregon State Police said.

That amount of fentanyl had the potential to yield more than 144,000 lethal doses, said David Reames, special agent in charge of the DEA's Seattle division. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be deadly, according to the DEA.

Credit: Oregon State Police
Officers seized 37 guns, 2,000 grams of meth, 636 grams of fentanyl pills and 52 grams of fentanyl, Oregon State Police said.

Officers also seized 58 grams of cocaine and 250 pounds of marijuana, state police said.

Reames said the investigation is ongoing.

Oregon State Police urged community members to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity and to alert law enforcement.

"You are the eyes and ears of everything that happens in your neighborhoods. We ask you to report any suspected criminal activity to local law enforcement," said Oregon State Police Captain Kyle Kennedy in a news release. "We can work together in the disruption of these drug trafficking organizations."

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