The U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) announced in a recent news release that law enforcement had seized narcotics with a street value of $11.7 million on the Moapa River Indian Reservation.
According to the BIA, its Division of Drug Enforcement spent six days in May collaborating with local authorities, including the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Henderson Police Department, Moapa River Indian Reservation Police Department, Nevada State Police and other federal agencies in an operation on the reservation that resulted in the drug take worth millions on the street.
"While the Moapa River Indian Reservation does not have a high rate of drug use, it is an ideal location for law enforcement agencies to work together to maximize the amount of product taken from the streets,” Steven Juneau, acting director of the BIA Office of Justice Services, said in the bureau's news release. “This operation was a tremendous success and will make this and other Tribal communities across the Nation safer places to live."
During the enforcement effort, authorities were able to nab more than 2,100 pounds of narcotics, including the largest marijuana haul in the history of Nevada State Police, according to the release. The BIA noted in the release that the effort included 219 traffic stops and 57 vehicle searches which uncovered 2,093 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $8.1 million; 36.16 pounds of Fentanyl worth $2.3 million on the street; 28.83 pounds of cocaine valued at $1.2 million; 25.13 grams of heroin valued at $3,670; 21.15 grams of methamphetamine valued at $2,136 as well as three handguns.
May’s operation wasn’t the first between local authorities. The BIA noted in its news release that a four-day operation conducted on I-15 northeast of Las Vegas led to the seizure of 123 pounds of drugs with a street value of nearly $2.8 million.
