ARRESTS CONTINUE IN STING

More Drug Charges Expected From Undercover Investigation

A total of 70 suspected drug dealers have been jailed and 30 more have
been identified, in one of Muscogee County's largest round ups.

The undercover investigation began 10 months ago and culminated
Tuesday with the first set of arrests, totalling about 60. By
Wednesday afternoon, 15 agents with the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation and the Metro Narcotics Task Force captured
approximately 10 more individuals with the help of the Muscogee County
Sheriff's Office and the Columbus Police Department.

Law enforcement officials are expecting to make more than 80
additional arrests and file more than 400 total drug-related charges
before the sting is complete, making this one of the largest
operations of this kind the county has seen in 20 years, said Bill
Malueg, deputy director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Increasing concern from area residents over the sale of narcotics in
Columbus, mostly in public housing developments, prompted Police Chief
Ricky Boren and Sheriff Ralph Johnson to request help from the GBI who
organized the extensive operation, which has also resulted in the
seizure of thousands of dollars worth of drugs and weapons.

Undercover officers began making drug buys throughout the city in July
2006. Their work led to the identification of more than 100
street-level drug dealers who officials tagged for arrest upon
completion of the undercover portion of the investigation.

The GBI's State Drug Task Force and the Metro Narcotics Task Force
contributed more than $120,000 in seized drug money to the mission.
The remainder of the funds needed to execute the initiative came from
GBI grant money.

With warrants that have yet to be served and individuals who have yet
to be identified, the operation is far from complete. Local law
enforcement authorities warned, however, that even when the GBI goes
back to Atlanta they will continue their canvasses of Columbus
neighborhoods.