Detroit drug sting yields 28 arrests

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DETROIT, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- An 18-month investigation in Detroit yielded 28 arrests in a drug ring operating out of senior living complexes, officials said.

Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon announced Monday the results of the investigation. Thirteen additional arrest warrants were issued for suspects not yet located on charges ranging from selling heroin and crack cocaine to being felons possessing firearms, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Napoleon's announcement came one day before county sheriff elections, the Free Press said.

Sixty undercover agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives purchased crack cocaine and heroin from targeted suspects, leading to state and federal search warrants, the Detroit News reported.

Cocaine, heroin, marijuana, 12 guns, around $100,000 in cash, three vehicles and one residence valued at $135,000, were seized as a result of the cooperative sting by local and federal agencies, the newspapers said.

"The public should know none of this could happen if we weren't working together," said Tom Brandon, special agent in charge of the Detroit Field Division of the federal ATF.

Residents had not felt safe in their homes for at least two years, but the area has seemed safer since the arrests, said Marie Butler, 64, who lives in one of the buildings.

"That's a scary way to live. I've been a Detroiter all my life. I've seen its great days ... and I've cried a lot of tears for our youth," Butler said.