Santa Ana : Drug Sweeps Result in More Than 400 Arrests

Acting Police Chief Eugene B. Hansen announced Monday that an aggressive campaign has led to more than 400 arrests of small-time dealers and buyers in the last three months, including 35 in the past week.

The majority of the arrests occurred in the 1300 block of W. Walnut Street, where $50,000 in drugs also was confiscated, according to Hansen.

“Although the quantity of drugs is not great, it portrays a fair sample of what is being dealt out on the streets and out of residential locations,” Hansen said during a news conference, where police displayed several bags of cocaine, marijuana and heroin, plus five handguns, three rifles and about $5,000 in cash.

Hansen said the drug sweeps resulted from complaints by residents about open drug dealing on their streets.

Hansen also said that about 95% of those arrested were illegal aliens, who have been turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Some were brought to Santa Ana to set up drug outlets in houses and apartments either rented by or owned by drug wholesalers, Hansen said.