Officers from the Monmouth and Galesburg Police Departments assisted in a joint federal and state investigation that began in 2017 into a multi-state drug trafficking operation involving Texas, Iowa, and Illinois. According to the Burlington Hawk Eye, the raid began at about 4 a.m. Tuesday, when nearly 200 officers descended upon southeast Iowa to carry out search warrants at seven locations believed to be involved in the large-scale methamphetamine, cocaine, and crack-cocaine drug trafficking operation. Search warrants were not only conducted in Burlington and West Burlington, but also in Chicago, Dallas, and Iowa City.
Eleven guns, six handguns and five long guns, were recovered from the raids. Seven of them were seized in Burlington. Drugs were also seized during the raid, the amount in unclear at this time as it is being processed with the FBI. The drug operation is believed to have involved “multi-kilo quantities of cocaine” and “multiple double-digit pounds of methamphetamine and ice methamphetamine.
While Tuesday’s bust dealt with methamphetamine, cocaine, and crack-cocaine, heroin has been popping up in Burlington as well. Lt. Adam Schaefer said a majority of the heroin comes from Chicago. Many of the drugs tested positive for fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid that greatly increases the risk of overdose. Burlington Police Chief Dennis Kramer reported at least two additional people facing federal charges remain at large.
