Police in Baltimore have arrested fifteen people resulting from a two-year undercover investigation by the Harford County Task Force into a drug smuggling ring based in Harford County that would have marijuana smuggled to them from California.
The Baltimore Sun reports that the investigation went from 2010 to October 2012 ended with police seizing 140 pounds of marijuana, 20 guns, 14 different vehicles, and $140,000 cash.
"Drug operations know no boundaries," Sheriff Jesse Bane said in congratulating the task force on the arrests. "Successful cases depend on good investigative work and strong law enforcement partnerships working together. The Task Force demonstrated these attributes and in doing so these detectives took down yet another drug organization working in Harford County."
The smuggling ring was uncovered through a tip that resulted in undercover cops making multiple drug purchases from a couple of dealers in Maryland, which resulted in them tapping their phone lines, which then linked them to those in California.
"Drug investigations typically begin because someone has the wherewithal to make a call and give us a tip," Bane said. "Not all tips work out and as frustrating as the wait is for our citizens [and the police] it may take months for that one tip to pay off. But in this case it did."
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