Drug arrests made a ‘dent’
When five search warrants were executed in Red Oak and 14 people were arrested on various drug charges June 29, it marked the culmination of two separate investigations.
Red Oak Police Chief Justin Rhamy said the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Red Oak Police Department each started investigations last January.
“It was two separate investigations,” Rhamy said. “The sheriff’s office had an investigation running and we had one running. Everything came to a head about the same time, so we were able to do the operation all at once,” Rhamy said. “Overall, we had 23 officers involved, from the sheriff’s office, our department, the Iowa State Patrol, DOT and DNR.”
Four of the arrests involved subjects charged with delivery or potential delivery of methamphetamine. Several years ago, steps were taken to reduce the prevalence of meth in Iowa by changing anhydrous ammonia and making pseudoephedrine a prescribed drug; both are key components of making meth. However, the arrests show it is still in supply.
“When they put the pseudoephedrine law in place, that slowed things down quite drastically,” Rhamy said, in terms of production in the area. “I’m not saying people are not making it around here, but a lot of it is probably imported at this point in time.”
Rhamy said the arrests “most certainly made a dent” in the prevalence of meth in the Montgomery County area. “Is it as big as we’d like to see? Absolutely not. Most certainly, there are still people out there selling methamphetamine.”
Reaction in the community to the drug bust was positive, Rhamy said.
“Everybody has been extremely grateful. People have come up to us and said they were glad it was happening. We’ve had phone calls, texts, social media, and face-to-face, they’ve said, ‘You guys did awesome.’”
Social media reaction to posts on The Red Oak Express Facebook page included similar feedback about the drug investigations and arrests.
Pre-trial conferences and trial dates have been set for many of those charged in the wake of the searches, and it will be up to the judicial system to determine the final dispositions.