Officials with the Phoenix Police Department and the Arizona Department of Public Safety announced the arrests of 28 people Wednesday as part of an investigation known as Operation Southland.
Those apprehended were believed to be responsible for trafficking PCP, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine in the Phoenix area.
Sgt. Chas Clements of the Phoenix Police Department. He said Wednesday’s events were the result of a five-month-long investigation.
"It was a lot of work it," he said. "God, thousands of man hours. The officers were working the investigation...the surveillances. And then today, we started at 2:30 this morning so basically we're just finally wrapping up the investigation and getting ready to do the next one."
The suspects are members of multiple street gangs, some of whom held managerial-level positions within the organizations.
Officials are still looking for about 15 more people.
