DETROIT, July 29 (UPI) -- Detroit law enforcement said they arrested 20 people suspected of forcibly taking over a senior apartment complex and using it as a base to sell drugs.

Wayne County Undersheriff Dan Pfannes said in a news conference Monday drug dealers used coercion and force to take over seniors' apartments and turn them into drug dens where everything from marijuana to crack cocaine and heroin were sold, The Detroit News reported.


"These people basically forced their way into these people's homes," Pfannes said.

The apartment complex is located in Detroit's Midtown section, home to some of the city's largest redevelopment successes, but where longstanding criminal elements still exist, Pfannes said. While a burgeoning medical corridor, a planned entertainment district and several high-end high-rise condo buildings have replaced some of the urban blight, police still contend with drug and gang activity on a regular basis in the area.

"There are still some people here who are trying to hold on to the old guard," Pfannes said of the crime still plaguing the neighborhood.