Bust nets narcotics, guns
City authorities made one of the largest drug busts in Brookhaven history, recovering close to six and a half ounces of cocaine, 25 ounces of marijuana and 10 firearms at a business office on Monticello Street Friday night.
Brookhaven Police Chief Bobby Bell said 13 suspects were arrested in the raid, the result of over six months of surveillance and investigative work by the BPD.
“This was a successful mission,” Bell said. “We took a large quantity of drugs and firearms off the street. We are hopeful our arrests will have a significant impact on future crime in the city as well.”
Bell said officers confiscated 24.9 pounds of marijuana, 1.6 ounces of crack cocaine and 4.8 ounces of powder cocaine. They also seized 10 firearms, most of them semi-automatics, and dozens of clips of ammunition at the crime scene.
Chief Bell said the police confiscated $8,300.
Authorities officially raided the body shop office at 610 E. Monticello on suspicion of gambling at 10:04 p.m. Friday. Once on the scene, officials recovered the drugs and guns without incident, said Bell Tuesday night at the board of aldermen’s meeting.
While the Brookhaven Police Department was the primary entity involved in the operation, the department also received assistance from the Southwest Mississippi Narcotics Unit during the raid, said Bell.
The Southwest Mississippi Narcotics Unit is an umbrella organization that includes a number of local police departments such as Wesson, Monticello and Brookhaven, to name a few.
Bell said he waited to release news of the raid in order to allow the department time to interview suspects and track down new leads.
According to Bell, the person renting the office was not on the premises at the time of the arrests.