Undercover drug operation “Street Sweeper” leads to arrest of more than 100 people in Riverside

An undercover drug operation called “Street Sweeper” in Riverside over a three-week span has led to more than 100 arrests of people for alleged crimes including suspected selling of drugs, thefts, and drug possession, police said in a statement released Thursday

Officials said that community members and businesses recently had complained to police about increased criminal activity.

In response, Riverside police conducted an undercover drug purchase operation along the Magnolia Avenue corridor between Van Buren Boulevard and Pierce Street, the police statement said.

During the operation, officers tracked 46 different purchases of methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, PCP, and other drugs. Police officers coordinated a three-day arrest operation to locate the 44 people suspected of selling drugs, police said.

Of the drug dealers identified, 33 were arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center last week on suspicion of drug sales.

According to Thursday’s statement, 71 other people were also arrested and booked into jail for charges that included:

• 15 arrests for violation of parole, probation, and post-release community supervision3 outstanding felony arrest warrants
• 21 outstanding misdemeanor arrest warrants on suspicion of shoplifting, petty theft, trespassing, possession of drug paraphernalia, illegal possession of controlled substances, and being under the influence of a controlled substance
• 32 misdemeanor arrests were made on suspicion of trespassing, public intoxication, possession of drug paraphernalia, and illegal possession of controlled substances

Officers also searched nearby motels and found a woman wanted on a 2022 felony drunken driving case in which she struck a vehicle containing two adult women and a 4-year-old boy, all of whom sustained serious injuries. Inside her room, a man with an outstanding felony warrant for burglary was also located, along with several thousand dollars worth of stolen merchandise in his possession, the police statement said.

Of the arrests made, almost all the suspects claimed to be transients living on the streets and motels along Magnolia Avenue, Thursday’s statement said. “Furthermore, medical aid and police calls for service along the Magnolia Avenue corridor immediately and significantly decreased,” the Riverside Police statement said.

Eleven drug dealers are still wanted on felony drug sales charges, police said.

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