'OPERATION BEDROCK' NETS 63 DRUG SUSPECTS IN MISS., ALABAMA

RED BAY, Ala. - Alabama and Mississippi law officers on Tuesday saw the
fruits of their 17-month undercover labor as more than 50 drug suspects
were taken into custody as part of "Operation Bedrock."

"Today is a dark day for drug dealers in our area," said John Pilati,
Franklin County, Ala. district attorney.

In all, 63 drug suspects have been arrested in the operation carried out by
12 Northeast Mississippi and Northwest Alabama agencies.

"We have a lot of line jumpers," said Tishomingo County Sheriff David
Smith. "I know that a lot of our county's drugs come from Alabama, and vice
versa. This operation would not have been successful if not for great
cooperation from each agency involved.

"Drug dealers don't pay attention to county and state lines, so it's
important for us to work together," Smith said.

Fourteen of the arrests were made in Tishomingo County, the largest
involving 13 ounces of methamphetamine. Smith's department was lauded at
Tuesday's press conference, held at the Red Bay, Ala. City Hall, for
providing $100,000 in "flash money" used in making some of the arrests.

"It's not easy to come up with $40,000 in an hour," said Red Bay, Ala.
Police Chief Reb Boatwright. "But David's office was able to do that for
us. A lot of these arrests would not have been made without his help."

About 65 percent of the arrests made were methamphetamine related,
officials said, but one of the larger finds came when 16 pounds of
marijuana was intercepted from a parcel service in Tupelo.

The two packages originated from Texas and were addressed to a residence in
Alabama. Randy Zimmerman, 21, of Hodges, Ala. was arrested when he tried to
accept the packages at a welcome center in Itawamba County. The North
Mississippi Narcotics Unit and Itawamba County Sheriff's Office assisted in
his arrest.

"Operation Bedrock" took its name after an undercover informant was given a
code name of a character from "The Flintstones" cartoon.