The El Dorado County District Attorney's Office and El Dorado County Sheriff's Office joined 38 law enforcement agencies across 14 counties in Operation Central Valley Blues, a coordinated enforcement initiative targeting illicit drug trafficking, illegal weapons and associated violent crime throughout Northern and Central California, Village Life reported on Oct. 22.
Source: Village Life (El Dorado County)
The operation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration's San Francisco Field Division, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Sacramento Field Office, the Central Valley California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and the social media company Meta, Village Life reported, describing a drive aimed at drug dealers using social media. FOX40 in Sacramento reported that 146 people were arrested in connection with illicit drug trafficking in the operation, attributing the figure to the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office.
What happened in Colusa County
In Colusa County, the operation ran continuously from Oct. 5 through Oct. 8, the Colusa County Task Force said in an account published by Crime Voice on Oct. 22 and in a Colusa County news release. The task force coordinated with the California Highway Patrol Northern Division K-9 unit, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Colusa Police Department, the Colusa Probation Department and the Colusa County Sheriff's Office.
Source: Crime Voice / Colusa County Task Force
During a 36-hour period, personnel executed five residential search warrants, seizing drug-trafficking evidence and a stolen firearm and arresting people with outstanding felony warrants, the task force said. Officers also averaged more than 40 traffic stops per 12-hour shift, leading to additional arrests including identified criminal street gang members, the recovery of a stolen vehicle and the seizure of another illegal firearm with narcotics, according to the task force account.
Colusa County officials said the operation focused on disrupting criminal trafficking along major Northern California transit routes, including Interstate 5 and Highway 20 — corridors used daily by Central Valley truckers and farm traffic.
Officials said questions about the Colusa County arm of the operation may be directed to Colusa County Sheriff's Office Field Services Lieutenant Jose Ruiz. Arrest details in this report are the agencies' accounts; charges are allegations until proven in court.