VIDEO: Operation Clean Sweep Takes Place At East Webster High School

WEBSTER COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Keeping drugs and illegal substances away from minors is always on the minds of adults in their lives.

That’s why every now and then law enforcement shows up at East Webster High School.

It’s a campus-wide drug sweep.

The high school partners with the Webster County Sheriff’s Department and other local agencies to keep students safe.

Keeping out anything that distracts learning and hurts students is the goal behind this operation.

The search was a complete surprise to students.

Law enforcement and K9s sweep through East Webster High School for Operation Clean Sweep.

The operation sends a message to students.

“Tell the kids that it’s not good to bring that here, and you know, anytime that somebody drives by and they see dogs searching parking lots, and schools, and things like that, it’s definitely a really good deterrent and keeps things from occurring you know, as often as they do,” says Lowndes County K9 Handler Corporal Michael Dulaney.

As students sit in class, deputies walk through parking lots, and K9s sniff cars for illegal narcotics and items that could be dangerous to students.

This K9 sniffed around 40 to 50 cars.

“He’ll give you a head shot, meaning he’ll be going by, close his mouth and look back, means he’s caught something,” says handler, Dulaney.

Two Lowndes County K9s and their handlers, along with a Mississippi State Police K9 and his handler, came out to help Webster County deputies with the school property search.

“We’re going to make a walk through the school. Let them sniff around some classroom doors,” says Webster County Investigator Landon Griffin.

As soon as deputies walk in the school’s front doors, the K9s take off down the hallways and into classrooms.

This drug operation is different than most because it involves juveniles.

“There’s a lot of privacy issues, you know, with juveniles as well, so you know, as far as, we don’t want to break any of those rules, or you know, we definitely don’t want to scare them. We don’t want to make them think that we are the bad guys, you know? So, any time you deal with kids, you’ve got to play with kid gloves I guess you could say,” says Webster County Chief Deputy Jeff Mann.

Deputies say the Halloween sweep is one to brag about.

“This many kids, this many vehicles that are driven to the school every day, and for us not to find anything, you know, I mean, that’s a really big deal. It’s great, you know, it’s great for Webster County,” says Mann.

“I’m always happy when we don’t. That means that Webster County is doing what they can to stop that from occurring and that’s always a good thing and we don’t ever want to have to find anything, but when we do, it’s rewarding to get it away,” says Dulaney.

Webster County Chief Deputy Jeff Mann says deputies and officers will continue doing the surprise searches every few months.