COCHRAN, Ga. — On Wednesday, over 30 people were arrested in what the Bleckley County Sheriff's Office is calling the "largest drug bust they've ever had." The investigation started back in September 2018.
Major Daniel Cape says it all happened after getting a tip from the community.
"Well, just like a lot of drug investigations, we kept getting information, and Mr. Robert West was habitually coming up as being a leader of drug operations here in Bleckley County."
MUGSHOTS | Bleckley County drug investigation
He says from there, the next step was tapping 46-year-old Robert West's cell phone. It was found that from November to January, there were over 23,000 phone calls and texts recovered among the suspects.
In February, a warrant was issued for West at his home on Rene Drive Extension in Cochran. "At that time, we executed some search warrants throughout the county. Mr. West fled in his vehicle, actually striking a federal agent with his vehicle at the time," says Major Cape.
The McRae-Helena Police Department caught West hours later and investigators found cocaine, crystal meth, marijuana, and money from his property, but the investigation didn't stop there.
Cape says, "There was a large amount of surveillance done along with the electronic surveillance of the phone, so through all those efforts together, we were able to determine the involvement that other people played."
The sheriff's office says this is still an ongoing investigation and they expect more arrests to be made over the next couple of months.