(HorizonPost.com) – Federal agents have carried out multiple searches in Middletown, Ohio. SWAT teams, accompanied by Middletown police, executed search warrants early on March 5th. Middletown Police Chief David Birk said the operation involved the department’s narcotics unit and focused on addresses on Mayfield and Highland Streets as well as North Verity Parkway.
Todd Lindgren, a spokesperson for the federal agency, said, “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity in the Middletown area.” He added that he could release no additional information at that time.
Officers carried out a similar operation in the area in February when narcotics, rifles, and $100,000 in cash were seized from two properties on 15th and 10th Avenues. The FBI also assisted on that occasion and arrested two suspects, Benjamin Davis, and Jatae Tisdale, in connection with the seizures.
Drug problems plague the area, and in 2021, it was the scene of one of the largest narcotics busts ever undertaken. Law enforcement officers arrested Michael S. Morales of Baltimore Street and charged him with trafficking and possession offenses.
Butler County Regional Narcotics Task Force (BURN) led the investigation and confiscated more than $3 million worth of drugs and weapons. These were delivered by truck to an address on Hamilton Cleves Road. Police intercepted the truck and found 30 large boxes containing 75,000 THC vape cartridges, 40 pounds of psychedelic mushrooms, and THC edibles disguised as candy. In addition, officers found several weapons at the location address. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects.
Last year, police apprehended Shawn “Latty” Lattimore in Middletown on suspicion of trafficking enough Fentanyl to kill the entire population of Butler and Warren counties. Local law enforcement officers, federal agents, and the Butler County Undercover Narcotics Task Force, were involved in the bust. Lattimore had been on the run for months and was described as armed and dangerous. Officers allegedly found 1,300 grams of Fentanyl in his possession.
Copyright 2023, HorizonPost.com
