Nearly two dozen people were arrested on drug charges in Jasper, an operation that was moved up because of a rash of recent heroin overdoses in Walker County.

On Monday, said Jasper police Chief J.C. Poe, officers carried out an operation to round up more than 30 people with felony drug warrants. The warrants stemmed from several months of undercover operations, he said.

The effort included the city of Jasper and fanned out countywide. Of those sought, 21 people were taken into custody. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency assisted in the operation, Poe said.

The warrant roundup was already in the works, but police moved up their time frame following a spate of drug overdoses. On Friday, Dec. 9, 18 overdoses were reported across the county, which led to one death, according to Walker County District Attorney Bill Adair and Jasper police Lt. David Mize. In all, authorities responded to 22 overdoses in a span of just three days.

Most of the arrests Monday dealt with heroin and methamphetamine, Mize said. One search warrant led to the seizure of heroin and meth, each packaged for individual sale.

Mize said bumping up the time frame for the arrests was crucial following the unusual amount of overdoses in such a short period of time. "This is something we could do to make a dent and slow things down,'' he said. "We haven't seen as many as what we were seeing. We're hoping we'll see a bigger drop."

The investigation into the spate of overdoses - many of which are believed to be linked to the same dealer - remains ongoing.