Cedar Rapids police recognized for zeroing in on meth network spanning from Iowa to Mexico

CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar Rapids police investigators have been recognized for their efforts in tackling a meth distribution network that extends from Eastern Iowa to a California state prison and Mexico.

Cedar Rapids public safety spokesman Greg Buelow said members of the department's Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force on Thursday received a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area award from the Office of National Drug Control Policy for an outstanding investigative effort.

While details on the investigation are scarce due to its ongoing nature, Buelow said the effort has involved a multitude of local agencies, leading to 18 search warrants and the seizure of 38 pounds of meth, approximately $11,000, 2.64 pounds of marijuana, two handguns and four long guns. Thirty-three individuals have been indicted federally and nine people have been arrested on the state level.

Buelow said the investigation began locally when investigators were tipped off about possible meth trafficking activity in Cedar Rapids by the Tri-County Drug Task Force in Waterloo. Police then learned the suspects were using the United States Postal Services as part of their operations.

Police in turn connected members of the drug trafficking organization beyond Cedar Rapids to Oelwein, Waterloo, Marshalltown and communities in Southern California. Agencies investigating the meth network grew to include the Cedar Rapids, Marion, Iowa City, Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Marshalltown and Oelwein police departments: Linn, Black Hawk, Marshall and Tama County sheriff offices, Cedar Rapids DEA, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Oklahoma Division of Criminal Investigation and California DEA.

Authorities said the distribution group was responsible for transporting and distributing approximately 30 pounds of meth each month into Iowa communities. The meth was being manufactured in Mexico, smuggled into the United States and shipped across the country via parcel delivery and passenger vehicles.

All told, 168 members of the drug network were identified, as were 24 residential or commercial locations in Eastern Iowa. California-based investigators traced the source of the drug supply to an inmate in the California prison system and a network extending into Mexico, Buelow said.