Investigation into cartel-quality meth in central Pennsylvania leads to charges against more than 50 people

CARLISLE, Pa. (KDKA) — More than 50 people have been charged after investigators say high-grade meth has surfaced in central Pennsylvania.

According to the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, 24 people have been arrested and 31 warrants were issued Wednesday in connection with “Operation Speed ​​Bump,” which began after meth turned up that did not match the locally produced product.

The operation resulted in more than two dozen search warrants, seizing 17 pounds of methamphetamine, 316 grams of crack/cocaine and 9 grams of heroin/fentanyl.

McCormack said the operation was launched in January after the county began seeing an increase in overdoses. The quality of the meth also raised concerns. McCormack said it was not consistent with the quality of meth produced by “home cooks.” Detectives said the quality of the methamphetamine seized was consistent with what is produced by cartels in Mexico and smuggled into the United States.

The Cumberland County Drug Task Force spread out across the county and into nearby Dauphin County to make the arrests. The multi-jurisdictional task force, made up of officers from several police departments, is a model for conducting investigations that cross county lines, McCormack said.

“No department in Cumberland County has the resources to properly conduct investigations of this nature,” McCormack said in a news release. “Drug dealers do not respect jurisdictional boundaries; therefore, we cannot allow our investigations to be dictated by those boundaries. Just as we did today, we worked with law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Marshalls across the river to assist us in arresting individuals from Dauphin County who regularly cross the river to prey on Cumberland County residents.”