A mass arrest of 60 people took place in Wise County Tuesday as part of a lengthy drug-related investigation, according to Wise County Sheriff Grant Kilgore and Commonwealth’s Attorney Brett Hall.

All 60 people were recently indicted by a grand jury with more than 100 charges and 75 indictments for numerous drug-related offenses, according to officials. The arrests stem from an investigation involving illegal drug activity, including Buprenorphine (Suboxone), Clonazolam, Amphetamine, Fentanyl, MDMB-4en PINACA, and the most common in the region, Methamphetamine (crystal and ice).

Commonwealth’s Attorney Brett Hall said, “Methamphetamine is a dangerous, highly addictive drug with scary side effects that has plagued our community for several years. When Meth crimes increase in our area, so does other criminal activity such as theft, breaking and entering, and other violent crimes. Today’s arrests are a great step toward combatting not only the drug issue in our community, but also reducing these other violent crimes to minimize the pattern of increased violence in Southwest Virginia. We will continue our efforts by aggressively prosecuting these cases.”

Sheriff Kilgore said, “I want to give credit to the law enforcement officers who are working today to keep drugs off our streets. I am proud to be a part of this effort and thankful for the hard work of all the officers involved today. We pray for their safety as they continue this important work, making arrests, and bringing offenders to justice.”

Charges from Tuesday's operation are all drug related crimes, including distribution of a controlled substance (Schedule I, Schedule II, Schedule III, Schedule IV, and Schedule V), distribution of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, prescription fraud, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and possession of a firearm while simultaneously possessing controlled substances illegally. Of the charges, more than 75 percent involve the distribution or possession of meth.