96 arrested in San Diego State drug bust

SAN DIEGO – Ninety-six people have been arrested, including 75 students, after a six-month undercover drug investigation centering on San Diego State University, the district attorney’s office announced today.

Seven fraternity houses were infiltrated by undercover agents, authorities said. Agents allegedly discovered evidence of widespread drug-dealing among some fraternity members. Drugs involved included marijuana, cocaine and Ecstasy.

Most of the marijuana was grown locally, not in Mexico, officials said.

The , called Operation Sudden Fall, began after an overdose by a female student at the university, authorities said. During the investigation, a second student, at San Diego Mesa College, also died of an overdose. Some 130 drug purchases were made during the investigation.

None of the arrests was linked to the students’ deaths, officials said at a morning news conference. One of the non-students arrested today was connected to a gang in Pacoima, said Ralph W. Partridge, a special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in San Diego.

SDSU President Stephen Weber said he did not hesitate to allow undercover officers on campus. As for those responsible for drug-dealing, he said, “If we find that the fraternities as organizations were involved, they will be kicked off campus.”

He said he did not care if his decisions sparked faculty ire.

“We did the right thing,” Weber said. “I think frankly more universities should step up and take these kinds of actions.”

One alleged dealer was just a month away from receiving a master’s degree in homeland security and had worked with the campus police as a security officer, officials said. Another student who was arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine and two guns was a criminal justice major, officials said.

One member of the Theta Chi fraternity sent out a mass text-message to “faithful customers,” saying that he was traveling to Las Vegas and would not be able to make his normal cocaine sales, the DEA said.

According to the DEA, evidence includes 4 pounds of cocaine, 50 pounds of marijuana, 48 hydroponic marijuana plants, 350 ecstasy pills, psilocybin (mushrooms), 30 vials of hash oil, methamphetamine, various illicit prescription drugs, one shotgun, three semiautomatic pistols, three brass knuckles and $60,000 in cash.

“Our children are our biggest asset and absent a safe, drug-free learning environment, their chances of succeeding are greatly diminished,” Partridge said. “The university police and SDSU administration are to be commended for their swift actions in confronting the drug use problem on campus.”

tony.perry@latimes.com