Arpaio targeting street-level drug sales in 'Operation No Drug Bust Too Small'

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced Thursday that his deputies and posse members will target street-level drug dealers with the newly launched "Operation No Drug Bust Too Small.”

Since last week, Arpaio said deputies and the sheriff's drug-fighting unit have mobilized throughout the county with intelligence analysts and posse volunteers to crack down on illegal drug use, from marijuana to heroin.

The sheriff would not provide details about the operation but said statistics from his jails demonstrate the need for such intervention.

In a recent three-month period, more than a quarter of all inmates booked into Maricopa County jails were facing drug charges, and the majority of those inmates were also facing criminal charges that were not drug related, Arpaio said.

"Bottom line is if we do something about the drug problem, we can do something about the crime problem," he said.