The following press release was issued by Chief Deputy Mark Lucas of the Anderson County Sheriff's Department today
Eighty-four indictments for forty persons on drug related charges have been returned by
an Anderson County Grand Jury after the second phase of an undercover operation by the
Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Investigators from the Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit and agents from the Tennessee
Bureau of Investigation continued the undercover operation which began in late 2007.
Those indicted either sold to undercover agents or were in possession of illegal drugs for
resale. These indictments also include charges resulting from meth lab investigations over
the last several months. All persons are charged with sale or possession for sale of
marijuana, cocaine, and prescription or legend drugs, as well as methamphetamine related
offenses. These ongoing drug investigations have resulted in the arrest of some eighty-six
individuals.
Sheriff’s investigators were assisted in some of these cases by the Morgan County and
Campbell County Sheriff’s Departments, and the Lake City, Oliver Springs, and Oak Ridge
Police Departments. This cooperation led to the indictments of several individuals.
Anderson County Sheriff’s deputies, along with officers from the Morgan County Sheriff’s
Department, the Lake City and Oliver Springs Police Departments, as well as State
Troopers from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, are out across Anderson County arresting
those persons indicted. This operation includes officials from the District Attorney’s Office,
the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force, and the Counterdrug Task Force of the
Tennessee National Guard. This sweep will continue throughout the day in an effort to
arrest as many of these persons as possible.
These indictments come after much hard work by the investigators of the Sheriff’s Special
Operations Unit and special agents of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The District
Attorney General’s Office also assisted investigators by preparing and presenting these
cases to the Grand Jury.
“Once again, a cooperative effort has led to a number of arrests on drug offenses,” said
Sheriff Paul White. “We will continue to work together with other local, state, and federal
law enforcement agencies to go after those who sell drugs in Anderson County,” continued
Sheriff White. “Our thanks to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Lake City Police
Department, and the District Attorney’s Office for their help with us in this operation.”
“This most recent undercover drug operation should reinforce in the minds of drug dealers
and manufacturers in Anderson County that we are always out looking for them,” said
District Attorney General Dave Clark. “Anderson County is not a good place for them to
be doing business,” continued General Clark. “They need to quit what they are doing or
find a new place to do it. Otherwise, we will make new housing arrangements for them.”
The names of those indicted will not be released until as many persons as possible have
been arrested. Information on those arrested or wanted in connection with these
indictments will be released at a later date.
