NEWS 25 - WEHT: Evansville, Henderson, Owensboro-Drug Bust Nets 10 Arrests & More To Come
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story by Jennifer Cahill
HENDERSON, KY - A business on a busy Henderson street is the focus of a drug investigation dubbed Operation Heartstopper, carried out by several state and federal agencies.
Now ten people are behind bars, facing federal charges stemming from what officials are calling a major meth ring based in Henderson.
Investigators say the meth ring is far wider than the ten people they have in custody and they promise more suspects will be rounded up in the coming weeks and months.
If not for two classic cars in the parking lot and a graffiti like sign on the building, you might drive right past the Do What? Garage on Green Street in Henderson.
That is unless you drove by Friday afternoon. State and federal investigators swarmed the building and the lot as part of a drug bust two years in the making.
"All the agencies came together in this investigation and chopped down the organizational totem pole, if you will, of a very large drug operation," says Kentucky State Police Trooper, Corey King.
King tells NEWS 25 this meth ring has brought up to 20 pounds of crystal meth into Henderson from the southwest every month.
"Methamphetamine's such a significant drug and a heavy drug with a significant impact on people when they use it," King says.
He says the ten arrests are only the beginning. Those arrested range from suspected small traffickers to the big dogs.
Those arrested include the owner of Do What?, 42-year-old Steve Peak, and former owner, 40-year-old Shane Smithhart of Smithhart Brothers Garage.
Federal DEA investigators and the IRS were inside Do What? on Friday.
Some who live and work nearby say the raid isn't surprising. One man said he's had suspicions of the business. Another says he's always thought it ironic there were only a few cars in the lot.
A man closing up the building Friday night declined to give a comment on what went down during the raid, but investigators say these won't be the last arrests in Operation Heartstopper.
"I promise a continual shockwave throughout the drug community. The two year investigation yielded a lot more people than what we have," King says.
Those arrested:
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