Operation Safe Streets yields fentanyl seizures, felony arrests
Idaho Probation & Parole and Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel take a suspect into custody during Operation Safe Streets for a probation violation warrant.
Idaho State Police
Idaho State Police, U.S. Marshals, and Post Falls Police detain a suspect in Post Falls for an outstanding warrant during the operation.
Fentanyl pills, also known as "mexi blues" or "mexis," that were seized by law enforcement during Operation Safe Streets last week.
Aerial view of Post Falls from the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office air support used during the operation.
POST FALLS — A massive local law-enforcement crackdown June 23-26 netted a "shocking amount" of drugs and nine "high-profile" fugitives, Idaho State Police and Kootenai County's sheriff said Monday.
"(The operation) yielded a shocking amount of controlled substances with a concerning amount of fentanyl seizures," an ISP spokesperson said. "One traffic stop during the operation yielded trafficking amounts of methamphetamine, over 50 fentanyl pills, a stolen firearm and suspected stolen police items."
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris praised the interagency effort, which included 50 law enforcement officers and agents from ISP, KCSO, Post Falls Police, Coeur d'Alene Police, Idaho Probation & Parole, Kootenai County misdemeanor probation, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Marshals, FBI, DEA participated in Operation Safe Street.
"I am very proud of the work from the men and women in Kootenai County law enforcement," Norris said Monday. “I'm very pleased with the operation.”
The four-day operation was conducted with a focus on probation violators and gang activity, as well as being highly visible and enhancing public safety before the Fourth of July holiday.
With the majority of cases coming from Post Falls, the ISP spokesperson said nine high-profile fugitives were taken into custody throughout the course of the operation — several of whom had warrants for child-related sex crimes.
ISP confirmed that patrol vehicles have been broken into and burglarized recently in the two cities.
Among the many drug arrests, three were made for possession of fentanyl with intent to deliver and another two were for possession of fentanyl.
From May 14 to 22, five fatal overdoses were reported in Kootenai County involving counterfeit prescription pills and other illicit narcotics suspected to be laced with fentanyl. The deaths involve four males and one female ranging in age from 15 to 60.
"We are experiencing a series of suspicious deaths here in Kootenai County with possible links to bad fentanyl," Norris said. "Many of our high-profile cases involve people from Washington and in Washington. The Supreme Court has decriminalized a lot of their controlled substance sections, but in Idaho, we have not. If you don't seek the necessary help, you will be arrested and prosecuted."
For more information on this story, check out the Tuesday, June 29 episode of the North Idaho Now podcast where ISP Sgt. Jess Stennett will speak more in-depth on the dangers of fentanyl. The podcast can be found on cdapress.com, shoshonenewspress.com and related social media accounts with the newspapers.
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Coeur d'Alene Press Staff Writer Bill Buley contributed to this article.
