news-record.com

GRAHAM - Local, state and federal authorities have arrested 51 people so far as they wrap up a drug probe dubbed "Operation Snowflake."

The Alamance County Sheriff's Office said the undercover operation focused on midlevel drug dealers and the sale of illegal drugs in the county.

Authorities are sought 25 suspects today to serve warrants with a combined 145 felony and 40 misdemeanor charges.

As of 3 p.m., the sheriff's office said a total of 51 people have been arrested during the investigation, including 18 of the 25 they were seeking Tuesday.

The sheriff's office said undercover officers have bought or seized powdered and crack cocaine, marijuana and prescription drugs. They also recovered several firearms.

The investigation was designed to run concurrently with a federal drug probe that ended Oct. 16 and resulted in indictments of 27 people, including 16 from Alamance County, on federal drug and weapons charges.

The sheriff's office said some suspects targeted in Operation Snowflake are suspected of being associated with those arrested on Oct. 16.

The agencies working on Operation Snowflake are the Alamance and Guilford county sheriff's offices, the Burlington, Gibsonville, Graham, Haw River and Mebane police departments, the State Bureau of Investigation, the N.C. Department of Revenue and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.