'46 Dope Houses', 37 Arrests: Major Raid On Detroit's West Side
DETROIT (WWJ) - With helicopters circling, Detroit police — assisted by state police, the FBI, and ATF — made dozens of arrests in a raid dubbed "Operation Mistletoe."
It's part of a push to clean up the streets in time for the holidays.
"I said we'd be to the west side, and here we are," Detroit Police Chief James Craig told reporters.
The largest of three major raids in recent weeks, Tuesday's operation was focused on the area of Joy Road and West Grand River — targeting drug houses, liquor stores, and residences where parole violators were hiding.
Craig said there were 20 search warrants issued, and 113 criminals were targeted Tuesday. At least 37 people were arrested; 14 on felony charges.
Craig said the neighborhood, in the 10th Precinct, is one of the city's highest crime ares.
"This one-point-two square-mile area ranked number two in the city for complaints from good community members," said Craig.
"(There were) 46, to be exact, dope houses in this area complained on," he said. "There was only one other area, number six, that had one more complaint. We're going to have visit over there, too."
An undisclosed amount of crack, cocaine, and marijuana was seized.
On Clairmount street, where police shut down a drug house, one mother of three told WWJ's Pat Sweeting she was relieved to see all the police activity.
"I actually got kind of happy," she said, "because I have children and my neighbors have children ... and they'll actually be able to come outside without having to see all of this."
The woman, who opted not to give her name, said her day was made even better when police gave her a bag of groceries to help with her holiday meal.
Craig said that these raids, targeting problem areas of the city, will continue. He's been on the job as Detroit's top cop since June.
The names and specific crimes of those arrested were not immediately released.
