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State, Nicholasville Police searching for 96 in drug roundup

December 15, 2011|By Mike Moore | mmoore@jessaminejournal.com
  • John Furnish was led into the Jessamine County Detention Center Thursday morning. Furnish was arrested on drug trafficking charges.
Photo by Mike Moore/mmoore@jessaminejournal.com

Several people throughout Jessamine County and parts of other counties woke up to law-enforcement officers ready to arrest them on drug trafficking charges Thursday morning. In all, 96 people are targeted in a drug roundup as Nicholasville police officers and Kentucky State Police troopers made their way around the area.

“This is for cases within the last year,” Trooper Paul Blanton said. “This is 12 months of investigations; there were 96 indictments. The majority of them are people who live in Jessamine County, and there are also some Fayette County and Garrard County people wanted.”

Blanton said those indicted face charges of trafficking or conspiracy to traffic in prescription drugs (oxycodone, percocet and other pain killers). The charges are Class C felonies, punishable by 5-10 years in prison. The indictments were handed down by a Jessamine County grand jury Dec. 7.

The drug roundup was an effort by the Kentucky State Police’s Drug Enforcement Special Investigations East unit, which includes KSP troopers and officers from surrounding counties in central Kentucky, including Nicholasville.

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Blanton said he hopes all the people officers are looking for would be arrested Thursday, but added it could last a few days.

“(The round up) started at 7 a.m. and will go until we’ve exhausted all means to locate the people,” Blanton said.

Names of those arrested were not yet made available. Nicholasville police officer Kevin Grimes said once the round up is complete, those names would be released to the media. As of noon Thursday, more than 30 of the 96 people had been arrested.

The Journal will update this story as more information becomes available.

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