Drug roundup rolls across Monroe County, targeting dealers

MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A county-wide drug roundup kicked off in Monroe County Wednesday morning.

The roundups are nothing new for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and they all have the same goal-getting drugs and dealers off the streets and making the area safer.

The sheriff’s department has been on the prowl looking for 41 suspected drug dealers and users.

Sheriff Cecil Cantrell says those people got on their radar after undercover buys over the last couple of months.

It’s a message the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department has been sending for a long time.

“If you sell drugs here in Monroe County, you’re going to jail. We’re just not going to permit it. Our office will hunt you down, we’ll put you in jail, you can make proper bond, and we’re going to get you indicted,” said Sheriff Cantrell.

While WCBI was out on the hunt with deputies, four people were arrested.

In a couple of cases, they had to call for back-up from the Department of Human Services.

“That’s the bad part. These kids are growing up with their parents selling drugs. They see this, so they think it’s alright too. If you grow up in that, that’s usually what you become so, we’re trying to show those children and their neighbors, hey, it’s not going to permitted here in Monroe County.”

Geographically, Monroe County is the third largest county in the state, and these guys don’t miss a square mile on these roundups.

Sheriff Cecil Cantrell says when you control drugs, you control crime throughout the county.

He says after these big roundups, they’ll go several days and maybe even weeks without any reports of stolen property.

“When you lock up a drug dealer, he’s usually trading stolen merchandise for drugs, and if you keep him out of business, you take his money, his vehicles, and his drugs, you’re putting him out of business.”