Twenty arrested after 9-month drug probe
Most suspects from the South County

By Luis Ernesto Gomez/Adobe Press

A nine-month narcotics investigation resulted in the arrest of 20 people — three main players from Santa Maria and Nipomo and most of the rest from Nipomo and the Five Cities area, police said Thursday.

In a morning press conference in San Luis Obispo, officials said they also seized several grams of illegal drugs, thousands of dollars in cash, firearms, illegal fireworks and stolen property.

They said the investigation began in January and culminated in the arrests Sept. 6. All 20 suspects were booked into San Luis Obispo County Jail.

Up to 17 agencies joined efforts, sometimes tracking suspects across state lines and the Mexican border but ultimately leading to drug sales in Santa Maria and southern San Luis Obispo County.

“Even though the amounts of drugs seized are not humongous, the impacts that will have on the community are good because of the number of suspects taken off the street,â€