Drug ring busted in St. George

Eight suspected of dealing drugs have been arrested in a bust at a St. George mobile-park that netted $64,000 in illegal narcotics, guns and cash.

Three SWAT teams hit the park at 2300 East Middleton Drive late Thursday night, serving a series of search warrants. Officers used flash grenades to burst into some of the homes. During the raid, a woman said she was suffering health problems. She was taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center to be checked out by doctors and then booked into the Purgatory Jail.

Police also served a warrant at a hotel on St. George Boulevard, arresting a couple on suspicion of drug possession.

"We've tried to get as many players in this ring as we can," Lt. Scott Staley of the Washington County Drug/Gang Task Force said Friday. "We knew if we hit one trailer at a time and one person at a time, the others would disappear."

Officers seized methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana, St. George Police Sgt. Craig Harding said. Police also seized three semi-automatic guns and about $2,200 in cash.

"We've made a dent in this one outlet for drugs in our area, I'm sure there are more," he said. "We took a significant amount of drugs off the street."

Narcotics officers said the drug dealers may have moved into that trailer park by design.

"We've been told that a lot of the drug dealing that happens in St. George comes from that trailer park," Staley said.

A mother and son were arrested in the raid, accused of dealing from one of the mobile homes. Children who were living in some of the mobile homes were placed in the custody of the Division of Child and Family Services.

Police said the eight were not working together but were referring business to one another in a cooperative agreement.

"Each one dealt on their own," Staley said. "But if this person was out they would say 'Go see this person.' "

The eight people were booked into the Purgatory Jail Thursday on drug charges. Some were also in jail on holds by the Bureau of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

---

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com