Spring Break
Undercover investigation leads to mass drug bust
Jerica Harvey
Issue date: 12/17/08 Section: News
Two more students have been arrested for possession and delivery of marijuana, making the total count 11 in the mass arrests made by the Walworth County Drug Enforcement Unit.
An undercover investigation involving 30 officers from area law enforcement agencies has led to the arrests of 19 people for drug-related offenses.
Sgt. Jeff Patek of the drug unit said the investigation started when local police pulled over a 22-year-old student who had several ounces of marijuana and a large sum of cash in his car.
"To see a college kid going to school and driving a car with $35,000 of cash in it, kind of was a realization that we needed to take a closer look at this," he said.
Charges include delivery of marijuana, delivery of imitation controlled substance, delivery of schedule 2 narcotics, and delivery of cocaine.
"I believe the investigation and resulted arrests sends a strong message that drug-related offenses and trafficking are not tolerated in this city," Whitewater Police Chief James Coan said.
Coan said he thinks mass arrests of this kind deter other drug offenses within the community.
Both the Whitewater City Police Department and the university police had officers participating on the drug unit.
University Police Chief Matt Kiederlen said drug use on campus isn't any more of an issue at UW-Whitewater than any other campus.
"We're not alone in any way shape or form," Kiederlen said. "That's not an excuse and it doesn't mean we're turning a blind eye but the bottom line is it's something that's an uphill battle, it's something we deal with on a fairly regular basis."
The number of student arrests however, has become more prevalent, he said.
"Since I've been here, they've only done this once before, last year, and it certainly didn't involved these type of numbers," Kiederlen said. "There were still around the same number of arrests but not near as many students associated to the campus. That was a little shocking to me."
A 2000 Dodge Stratus and approximately $45,000 in cash were also seized during the course of the investigations.
Patek said the drug unit has at least a couple arrest warrants and charges have been made. The investigation is expected to wrap-up in the next couple of weeks.
All of the students will face felony charges this week through next week at the Walworth County Circuit Court. The Royal Purple will release the names after they are charged.
Visit RoyalPurpleNews.com for updated information as it becomes available.
An undercover investigation involving 30 officers from area law enforcement agencies has led to the arrests of 19 people for drug-related offenses.
Sgt. Jeff Patek of the drug unit said the investigation started when local police pulled over a 22-year-old student who had several ounces of marijuana and a large sum of cash in his car.
"To see a college kid going to school and driving a car with $35,000 of cash in it, kind of was a realization that we needed to take a closer look at this," he said.
Charges include delivery of marijuana, delivery of imitation controlled substance, delivery of schedule 2 narcotics, and delivery of cocaine.
"I believe the investigation and resulted arrests sends a strong message that drug-related offenses and trafficking are not tolerated in this city," Whitewater Police Chief James Coan said.
Coan said he thinks mass arrests of this kind deter other drug offenses within the community.
Both the Whitewater City Police Department and the university police had officers participating on the drug unit.
University Police Chief Matt Kiederlen said drug use on campus isn't any more of an issue at UW-Whitewater than any other campus.
"We're not alone in any way shape or form," Kiederlen said. "That's not an excuse and it doesn't mean we're turning a blind eye but the bottom line is it's something that's an uphill battle, it's something we deal with on a fairly regular basis."
The number of student arrests however, has become more prevalent, he said.
"Since I've been here, they've only done this once before, last year, and it certainly didn't involved these type of numbers," Kiederlen said. "There were still around the same number of arrests but not near as many students associated to the campus. That was a little shocking to me."
A 2000 Dodge Stratus and approximately $45,000 in cash were also seized during the course of the investigations.
Patek said the drug unit has at least a couple arrest warrants and charges have been made. The investigation is expected to wrap-up in the next couple of weeks.
All of the students will face felony charges this week through next week at the Walworth County Circuit Court. The Royal Purple will release the names after they are charged.
Visit RoyalPurpleNews.com for updated information as it becomes available.
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