'Operation Clean Sweep': Dozens arrested in two-phase crackdown of drug pipeline from Philly to suburbs

'Operation Clean Sweep': Dozens accused of funneling drugs into Philadelphia suburbs

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday was joined by prosecutors in Philadelphia's collar counties to discuss a 'Operation Clean Sweep.'

NORRISTOWN, Pa. - Pennsylvania prosecutors gathered on Monday to discuss ‘Operation Clean Sweep,' a drug trafficking crackdown aimed at crushing the pipeline of drugs running from Philadelphia to the city's Collar Counties. 

What we know:

Attorney General Dave Sunday and prosecutors from Philadelphia's Collar Counties announced the results of a two-phased drug trafficking operation on Monday.

‘Operation Clean Sweep’ targeted alleged drug traffickers buying illicit substances in Philadelphia – including fentynal, cocaine and methamphetamine – and transporting the drugs to suburban communities. 

"For too long, Philadelphia has been the epicenter for the supply of dangerous drugs, but we recognize that the counties surrounding Philadelphia — Montgomery, Bucks and Delaware counties—are also part of the problem," Montgomery County District Attorney Steele said.

During the two-phase blitz aimed at crushing the pipeline of drugs coming from Philadelphia, authorities made close to 100 arrests and seized 12 illegal firearms. The drugs seized during Operation Clean Sweep have an estimated street value of over $360,000, according to authorities.

"The Operation Clean Sweep collaboration will make communities safer with arrests of dozens of drug traffickers and seizures of firearms and deadly poisons that are not contained by municipal borders," Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said.

The Montgomery County Overdose Response Team (MCORT) also worked with law enforcement during Operation Clean Sweep to encourage addicted individuals who were not trafficking quantities of drugs to get help, with some success.

Philadelphia drug bust

‘Operation Clean Sweep’ comes about a week after FBI Director Kash Patel visited Philadelphia to champion a massive drug bust in Kensington. 

The investigation resulted in the arrests of over two-dozen accused members of the Weymouth Street Drug Trafficking Operation.

FBI, Philadelphia police hold gang, drug trafficking bust in Kensington

33 alleged members of the Weymouth Street Drug Trafficking Organization were charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and dozens of related offenses after an FBI raid occurred Friday morning.

The group is accused of running an "open air drug market" on one of the city's "most prolific drug blocks" for nearly a decade.

"We have permanently removed a drug trafficking organization out of the streets of Philadelphia," Director Patel said.