(May 29, 2009)

ROBSTOWN--Operation Dust Storm was drug dealer roundup that covered Nueces and Jim Wells County over the last two weeks. Now that''s over, it was a six-month undercover operation that put a big dent into drug sales.

The fight to take drugs off the streets is still ongoing. Undercover officers are still searching for the people who supplied the drugs to these dealers.

An early morning roundup in Robstown on Thursday led to several drug dealers getting arrested. A day after the dealers were put behind bars, it definitely disrupted drug sales in the small town.

"It was real quiet last night around Robstown," said Robstown Police Chief Johnny Brown. "The narcotic guys were out looking around and there just wasn't activity at all going on where we would usually come across something.

This was the second week of Operation Dust Storm. Last week, the same operation took place in Jim Wells County.

In all, 40 people were arrested for dealing drugs in both counties. Gone from the streets were drugs like marijuana, cocaine and black tar heroin.

"It's going to take them awhile to regroup and to get other people to fill in the gap, which in return we'll come after them as well," Chief Brown said. "We took several thousand dollars worth of drugs off the street."

Authorities know these were street dealers and not the ones supplying the drugs.

"We use the lower scales to catch the higher scales, but it's very seldom," said Jim Wells County Sheriff Oscar Lopez. "They're scared to death to tell who are the bigger guys."

But they still hold out hope an operation, like this, will lead to the ones supplying drugs to the Coastal Bend.

"It takes a lot of time and surveillance," Chief Brown said. "It's real time consuming, but in the long run, we are going to eventually get to you."

A promise these officers hope they can fulfill in the future.

--Manuel De La Rosa, Area 3 News, mdelarosa@kiiitv.com