The Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team, backed up by a number of other law enforcement agencies, arrested 29 people Tuesday and Wednesday in Morrow and western Umatilla County, according to a story on KUMA in Pendleton.
BENT Sgt. Rick Jackson says “Operation Black Eye” was an investigation that was primarily centered on methamphetamine trafficking.
KUMA quoted Jackson as saying, “There were some other drugs involved with the folks that we were dealing with, however. Several charges stemmed out of controlled buys that we’ve been working on for around four or five months.”
According to the KUMA story, Jackson said the officers knocked on 25 different doors in Boardman, Irrigon, Hermiston, Umatilla, Stanfield and the McNary area. While arrests were the primary goal, they also seized a small amount of methamphetamine and about $300 in cash.
“We still have a few folks that we’re going to round up and talk with, but this is the vast majority of them,” Jackson said. “Twenty nine people involved in some form of illegal activity in our two counties – that’s a big hit to the area.”
BENT is comprised of officers from law enforcement agencies throughout Umatilla and Morrow counties. In addition, Jackson said extra resources that were invaluable to the dragnet were Parole and Probation, the Hermiston Police Department, the Boardman Police Department, the Stanfield Police Department, the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office, the Umatilla County District Attorney’s Office and the Oregon State Police.
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