FRANKFORT, Ky. A comprehensive investigation into suspected drug trafficking has resulted in more than 200 arrests and seizures of drugs valued at nearly $685,000, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday. He also praised prevention and treatment programs fighting the deadly epidemic of addiction.
A Kentucky State Police investigation launched three months ago has involved every state police station across the Bluegrass State. The crackdown, dubbed Operation Summer Heat, is ongoing and will result in additional arrests, State Police Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr. said.
“Kentuckians in these targeted areas can sleep a little easier tonight knowing that these drug dealers have been removed from their communities and will now face prosecution,” Burnett said.
Beshear also announced advances in providing comprehensive treatment for people struggling with addiction. Four additional Kentucky counties — Breathitt, Jessamine, Lee and Nelson — have been certified as Recovery Ready Communities for the help they provide people overcoming addiction, he said.
Kentucky has made progress with its multipronged approach to addiction, the Democratic governor said, pointing to the decline in drug overdose deaths statewide over the past two years. The state is at the forefront nationally in the per capita number of residential drug and alcohol treatment beds, he said.
“Despite this, we know our work is not yet done,” Beshear said Thursday. “We are still losing many people, each one of them a child of God who is missed by their families and communities.”
On the enforcement side, the statewide drug operation resulted in 206 arrests on a total of 490 charges, with trafficking in controlled substances accounting for the majority, Burnett said.
Drug seizures totaled 554 grams of fentanyl, 219 grams of cocaine, 4,862 grams of methamphetamine, 41 grams of heroin, 2,931 fentanyl pills, 50 hydrocodone pills, 64 oxycodone pills and 90 hallucinogens, the commissioner said. The street value of the seized illicit drugs is approximately $684,953. Authorities also recovered $37,159 in cash, $10,000 in stolen tools and a stolen vehicle during the operation, he said.
“There are now fewer individuals out there who pose a threat to our people,” Beshear said at a news conference. “This was no easy task – a task that brought law enforcement face to face with danger.”
The operation removed lethal narcotics and the money that helps fuel drug trafficking operations from circulation, the state police commissioner added.
A total of 1,984 Kentuckians died last year from drug overdoses, a 9.8% drop from the previous year, according to the 2023 Kentucky Drug Overdose Fatality Report. synthetic opioid – was the biggest culprit, accounting for 79% of overdose deaths in 2023, the report said.
Kentucky’s Republican-dominated Legislature stepped up the fight against fentanyl this year by passing a sweeping measure aimed at fighting the crime. One important section created harsher sanctions when the distribution of fentanyl resulted in fatal overdoses.
At the federal level, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has directed huge sums of federal funding to his home state of Kentucky over the years to combat addiction problems.
Beshear on Thursday emphasized the importance of treatment, calling it an example of “living our faith and values” by offering second chances for people struggling to overcome addiction. So far, 14 of Kentucky’s 120 counties have achieved Recovery Ready certification. The designation recognizes the commitment to providing access to addiction treatment and recovery support and removing barriers to the workforce.
Kentucky cannot “jail our way out of this problem,” said Scott Lockard, public health director for the Kentucky River District Health Department.
“This void left by drugs, we need to fill it with something else,” he said.
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