7 arrested in Monmouth meth trafficking investigation
By Ava Barnes
A three-month joint investigation led to a major meth bust in Monmouth. The Warren County state’s attorney says seven people were arrested Wednesday morning and another person was taken into custody. They are suspected to have been selling highly-potent ICE meth.
The Monmouth Police Department worked with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, the West Central Illinois Task Force and the Illinois State Police to make those arrests. The agencies say these arrests are part of a meth trafficking operation.
Charges include delivery of methamphetamine, unlawful possession and conspiracy. Those range from class one to class three felonies.
People in town said they aren’t surprised to hear about so many arrests — this has been a problem for a while.
But one woman says people are going to have to start looking beyond the initial arrests if they want to solve the problem. That means figuring out why people are selling the drug.
“Definitely there should be some ramifications to issues like this, but we need to look at the core issues that drive people to this. If we want to fix the problem, we can’t treat the symptoms. We have to get to the cause,” said Kelsey Ault.
The Warren County state’s attorney said they are expecting to make more arrests as a part of this operation.
