HOUMA, La. — Authorities arrested multiple suspects in Houma as part of Operation Fed Up, which targeted the local opioid epidemic, police said.
Joining with the Louisiana State Police and Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Houma Police Department rounded up 18 drug suspects Wednesday, authorities said.
“These types of operations will continue in the city limits of Houma,” Police Chief Dana Coleman said. “Law enforcement across the nation have partnered against the uprising of the opioid epidemic. We will continue to fight this oppressive opioid epidemic, which can be a hindrance to families in the communities we serve, as well as families across the nation.”
Police named the roundup “Fed Up” because they’ve grown tired of the devastating effects of the ongoing opioid crisis, Coleman said.
“We chose the name because we’re fed up with seeing people overdose as a result of this opioid epidemic,” the police chief said. “Opioids have hit the streets of our neighborhoods a few years ago and have made a terrible impact on our community.”
In 2017 there were 53 fatal drug overdoses in Terrebonne Parish, authorities said. Although the number of overdoses fell to 31 in 2018, Coleman said he wants to see it become zero.
“We want to continue to be proactive to combat this issue,” he said.
Houma Police narcotics agents have been investigating illegal drug activities throughout the city limits for the past several months, Coleman said. Several suspects who sold heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and other types of drugs were identified during the investigation.
Police then obtained warrants and began rounding up the suspects Wednesday. Twenty of the targeted drug suspects still remain at large.
More arrests are expected to follow, Coleman said.
“We’ve been in constant talks with Parish President Gordon Dove about certain tools we need to combat this issue, and we have his full support to continue these types of operations,” he said.
--Staff Writer Dan Copp can be reached at 448-7639 or at dan.copp@houmatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter@DanVCopp.
