http://www.wtvynews4.com/news/headlines/5769216.html

Two-County Join Drug Bust
Reporter: Clarissa Stephens
Email Address: clarissa@wtvynews4.com
Clarissa Stephens: Two-County Join Drug Bust

In the past week, authorities have busted up what may be a drug ring that stretched from Dothan to Geneva County.

It was a cooperative effort between the Dothan Police Department, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, and the Geneva County Sheriff's Office.

The drug bust was the result of a six-month-long investigation.

Two locations that were raided are right in Dothan; another is in the Slocomb area of Geneva County. However, police believe all three cases are related.

More than $45,000 dollars worth of drugs and firearms are now off the street.

Chief John Powell with the Dothan Police Department said, "During the course of this investigation, crack cocaine was discovered along with some firearms and Mr. Bowick was taken into custody."

The first raid happened on February 7th at a home on Florida Avenue in downtown Dothan.

Fifty-nine-year-old Johnny Bowick is behind bars, charged with one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

When police searched Bowick's home, they found a .32 caliber revolver and crack cocaine with an estimated street value of $4,500 dollars.

Just three days later, vice officers raided a mobile home in the East Dothan area and confiscated five ounces of 85 percent pure methamphetamine, called ice, worth $16,000 dollars.

They also found a small amount of marijuana and $9,202 dollars in cash in the second location.

Then, during a third raid over the weekend at a home in Slocomb, they found another $16,000 in cash, 20 assorted firearms, including shotguns, pistols, and rifles, and small amounts of marijuana and meth.

Police say this type of methamphetamine is not common in the Wiregrass. They believe the ice was imported.

Sergeant Governor Jackson with the Dothan Police Department said, "We do have information about Latinos coming across and bringing a large amount of meth into our area, not only Texas and California. They're in the South Eastern part of the U.S. now."

Jackson says this bust is just a small part of a larger investigation that is still ongoing.

Bowick is in the Houston County Jail under a $10,000 dollar bond.

The names and locations of the other two cases are not being released, but more arrests are expected in these cases.

When drugs and a large number of weapons are found, the feds are called in to investigate.

In these cases, the U.S. Attorney's Office could get involved, to prosecute federal firearms violations.