A multi-agency law enforcement crackdown targeting a the drug trafficking pipeline from Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood into Bucks County and other suburban counties has led to 102 arrests and the seizure of more than $365,000 in illegal drugs.
Bucks County was a key part of the investigation, which was dubbed “Operation Clean Sweep.”
The operation, officials told reporters at a Montgomery County press conference on Monday, was to intercept the flow of narcotics, mainly fentanyl, from the city into Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery counties.
Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn underscored the impact on local communities, calling the collaborative effort a “game changer in identifying drug dealers who are dealing poisons to our counties and into the literal hands of our loved ones.”
“Those who are dealing and manufacturing these poisonous drugs should be on notice that together, we will identify you, we will prosecute you, and you will pay the price for what you are doing to our communities,” Schorn said.
The coordinated operation was conducted over 10 days in September and October.
It involved the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office; county detectives from Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery counties; Pennsylvania State Police; the Philadelphia Police Department; and several local departments, including those in Bucks County.
In total, the sweep resulted in 102 arrests, with 94 individuals facing drug-related charges, including possession with intent to deliver. Some were also arrested on outstanding warrants, officials said.
Law enforcement pulled 327 traffic stops during the probe and seized fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine, and other drugs, officials said.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office said there were 12 illegal firearms, including a stolen weapon, recovered.
One vehicle stolen from Montgomery County was also located, authorities said.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, who announced the results alongside district attorneys Schorn, Kevin Steele of Montgomery County, and Jack Stollsteimer of Delaware County, pointed to the ease of drug transportation across county lines.
“Fentanyl and other deadly poisons are not contained to any specific street corner, block, neighborhood, city or county,” Sunday said. “Those poisons are easily transported by predatory dealers.”
Montgomery County District Attorney Steele called the operation the first wholesale effort to stop drug transporters as they leave Philadelphia and enter the surrounding suburbs.
“Drug traffickers need to beware. They’re on notice now,” Steele said, warning that this will not be the last such operation. “You will not be able to drive across Philadelphia after obtaining illegal drugs and drive back into Montgomery County or any of these collar counties, because our police officers are watching and waiting and they’ll be prosecuted.”
Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Pedro Rosario, who has been tasked by the city’s mayor to fight drugs in Kensington, said the department supports continued collaboration with the attorney general’s office and partner counties.
“No longer can we operate in silos,” Rosario said. “This is a problem that affects our entire region. And the only way that we can attack and win this type of battle is by working in collaboration.”
Officials state that addressing the crisis requires both reducing supply through enforcement and reducing demand through treatment programs.
The arrests resulted in a combination of outcomes, with drug traffickers being prosecuted and some individuals struggling with substance use disorders being directed toward treatment resources.
“This is literally 24/7. This doesn’t end,” Sunday said. “This is a full court press from everybody, every single day to do what we can to decrease the supply and to help people get into treatment.”
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