MANSFIELD – A large-scale drug sweep organized by the METRICH Enforcement Unit was characterized by METRICH Commander Lt. Joseph Petrycki as a “huge success.”
The sweep, conducted on Wednesday, ended with 52 suspects indicted on 112 counts of drug trafficking and other related charges, according to Petrycki. METRICH is a ten county decentralized task force in North Central Ohio with the mission of reducing the availability of illegal drugs and weapons through proactive law enforcement efforts.
Throughout the investigation, METRICH detectives conducted a total of five search warrants. As a result of the search warrants, METRICH detectives also seized an assortment of firearms, cocaine, heroin, marijuana and more than $3,000 in U.S. currency.
“I appreciate the collaboration between the local, state and federal law enforcement agencies that assisted in making this operation a huge success,” Petrycki said.
The sweep was headed by METRICH with assistance from the U.S. Marshal’s Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, the Allied Special Operations Response Team, The Ohio State Highway Patrol Special Response Team, the Mansfield Division of Police, the Richland County Sheriff’s Office, the Shelby Police Department, the Ontario Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service.
The Shelby Police Department served as a staging point for arrestees due to the use of the jail at the Shelby Justice Center. Chief Lance Combs stated in a Facebook post that the Richland County Sheriff’s Office and officers from the U.S. Marshal’s Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force left the Shelby Justice Center with seven out of eight Shelby targets apprehended in the drug sweep.
“Normally, the indictments are served and each prisoner is transported all the way to the Richland County Jail,” Combs said. “The officers then have to return and look for the next target. By staging at our jail, we increased effectiveness and saved man hours and transport costs.”
The METRICH Enforcement Unit encourages citizens to be proactive by reporting suspected drug activity. Citizens can call the METRICH Crime Tip Hotline at 419-52-CRIME (419-522-7463) or the Task Force line at 419-755-9728.
