A coordinated sweep aimed at drug dealers who find their customers online has ended with 146 arrests across 14 California counties, the US Drug Enforcement Administration's San Francisco Field Division and the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office announced on October 22. Operation Central Valley Blues brought together 38 federal, state and local agencies, including the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California, the FBI, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, the Sacramento Police Department and the Central Valley California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area programme.

Source: Placerville NewsWire (INEDC)

146arrests across 14 counties
38federal, state and local agencies
43firearms recovered
$7.4 millionestimated street value of narcotics seized (yaani about $74 lakh)
800+social media accounts removed by Meta

What was seized

Authorities reported 3,286 pounds, 15.2 ounces of narcotics in addition to 18,542 pills. The haul included 16,136 fentanyl pills and 7.5 ounces of fentanyl material, 91 pounds, 13.1 ounces of methamphetamine, 7 pounds, 12.3 ounces of cocaine and 3,184 pounds, 15.4 ounces of cannabis, along with smaller quantities of heroin, psilocybin and GHB. Officers also seized $338,222 in currency. The figures and the $7.4 million street-value estimate are the agencies' reported totals; the announcement does not give a county-by-county breakdown or explain how the street value was calculated.

Dealers who advertise online

Investigators focused on the retail end of trafficking — dealers who advertise, negotiate and arrange sales through digital platforms — using intelligence-led investigations, undercover operations, patrols, search warrants and probation and parole compliance checks. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, assisted investigators through lawful processes and reported removing more than 800 accounts for policy violations; that figure counts accounts removed, not individual suspects. The operation expanded an earlier Sacramento-area model known as Folsom Blues, and the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office and Sheriff's Office were among the participating agencies, Village Life reported.

Source: Village Life

Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho said in the joint announcement: "Our office is proud to have been a key partner in Operation Central Valley Blues (OCVB), which builds upon the success of the local Folsom Blues drug operations in identifying and arresting online drug and weapons dealers." The arrests are allegations at this stage — cases will move through the courts in the counties where they were made — and officials have not said what long-term effect the sweep will have on drug availability or overdose deaths.