Louisville Police and Winston County Sheriff join on drug arrests
WINSTON COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Federal and local law enforcement are turning up the heat on accused drug dealers in Winston County.
Several arrests were announced yesterday as part of a joint operation.
On July 24, the FBI announced the arrests of ten people, nine of whom were in Winston County.
The suspects are charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl.
“We’re tired of losing our young people to the violence and drugs and whatnot that’s going on,” Police Chief Sean Holdiness said. “Then, these people who were picked up and charged might have been some of these people’s role models. Hopefully, this will be a sign of realism to them that this is not the way.”
These arrests are part of the F.B.I.’s “Operation Summer Heat,” a nationwide initiative to crack down on drug possession, trafficking, and violent crime.
The Louisville and Starkville Police departments, along with the Winston County Sheriff’s office, worked with several federal agencies to make the arrests.
Sheriff Mike Perkins said it’s a good example of what can be accomplished when agencies at different levels work together, building on each other’s knowledge and strengths.
“We both had a lot of contacts with other agencies, and like the chief said, we’re kind of short in equipment and techniques that we can use and investigate,” Sheriff Perkins said. “That’s why we use our federal partners and state partners to make up that slack, so we all work together to try to combat the drug problem and the violence problem.”
Police Chief Sean Holdiness and Sheriff Perkins have over 30 years of experience working together with the Bureau of Narcotics.
They said that co-operation helps provide better policing in their communities.
“It makes the world a difference,” Sheriff Perkins said. “Like I said, we have limited resources cause we have small budgets, but I will say the board of supervisors has given me what I needed to and given me their blessings to do what we need to do. So, having another source that has more resources than we do and being able to call on them, you just can’t put a price tag on that.”
“As a taxpayer, I’d be mad if our local agencies didn’t work together; that’s not conducive,” Chief Sean Holdiness said. “Police is police, I don’t care if it is Starkville, West Point, Columbus, or Louisville. We all need to come together because the drug pushers are working together.”
Prosecutors allege the crimes investigated as part of “Operation Summer Heat” started in January 2021.
The investigations are still open, and more arrests and more charges at both the state and federal level are possible.
