The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration arrested 27 individuals on Tuesday and Wednesday in Franklin, New Hampshire, as part of an operation targeting drug trafficking. The operation also led to the seizure of illegal drugs linked to the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel.
In a Thursday press release, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced that it completed a three-month investigation into drug trafficking in Franklin with assistance from the Franklin Police Department. The Drug Enforcement Administration explained that a two-day operation led to “27 arrests, multiple search warrants, and significant seizures.”
According to the press release, Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Franklin Police Department officials arrested 17 people, executed three search warrants, and seized roughly $100,000 in cash, illegal narcotics, and a firearm on Tuesday. On Wednesday, agents made 10 additional arrests and cleared a homeless encampment that was used to distribute drugs in the city.
The Drug Enforcement Administration confirmed that the investigation in Franklin started after the agency developed intelligence regarding a drug trafficking network in the city. Over the course of the investigation, agents and police detectives “conducted surveillance, gathered evidence, and built cases” prior to this week’s two-day operation.
Jarod Forget, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Special Agent in Charge at the New England Field Division, noted that the agency’s operation “attacked” the “street level distribution network” of the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel, which has a “strong hold on drug distribution” in the New England region.
“This case is an excellent example of how federal leadership and local cooperation can come together to protect communities like Franklin from the dangers of drug trafficking,” Forget stated.
“The DEA took the lead on this case, and we are proud to have supported their efforts,” Franklin Police Department Chief Dan Poirier said. “By working together, we were able to remove a significant drug trafficking operation from our community.”
Sharing pictures of some of the individuals arrested and the money seized during this week’s operation, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England office tweeted, “Twenty seven people in Franklin, New Hampshire have just been arrested! Fentanyl and methamphetamine sourced from Lawrence, Massachusetts have been seized. The drugs are directly linked to the Sinaloa Cartel. The investigation continues.”
