A small Alabama city has become a drug “hotspot” and police are determined to take back the community.
“The majority of these men and women grew up there,” Lou Varose, a former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives official, told FOX News Digital.
“These are residents who are fighting this war to protect their communities, the communities where they live, the communities where their children are growing up, the communities where their friends are,” Varose said. “This is very personal for them. What they're doing is probably the most dangerous and difficult aspect of law enforcement. It's covert operations, because it deals with illegal drugs, illegal guns, human trafficking, It's the most effective way to fight.”
Attention Fox Nation: The Godfather of Fentanyl
Lou Varose (right) speaks with Sgt. Garrett Pesnell of the Oxford Police Department. (Providing research discovery)
Valoze is leading a new series on Investigation Discovery (ID) titled “Operation Undercover.” The show takes viewers into “real-life, sensitive operations carried out by police to keep communities across the country safe.” Contains exclusive footage of sting operations targeting arms dealers, drug suppliers, human traffickers and more.
The first episode, which will premiere on November 12th, focuses on Oxford, Alabama, a town located just off Highway 20, which runs from Atlanta to Birmingham. Law enforcement is keeping an eye on the area because of its high activity in fentanyl, an opioid 50 times more powerful than the same amount of heroin. According to the episode, it has become the main drug of choice for smugglers.
Blue City police officer executed by female friend's gangster son for fear of retribution
Oxford police are preparing to execute an arrest warrant and search warrant. (Providing research discovery)
“It's produced and produced in these superlabs, mostly in Mexico, and brought to the border,” Varose explained. “It's very cheap to make and you can make it in large quantities. It's very powerful. You only need a little bit to get the desired result. Whether it's pure fentanyl or mixed with other drugs. No matter what, they make it available everywhere and very cheap.”
Oxford police seized evidence from the bust and a search warrant. (Providing research discovery)
“The combination of availability and affordability is why infections continue to spread and, unfortunately, deaths occur every day,” Varose added.
Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids made in labs are causing the deadliest overdose crisis the United States has ever seen. In 2021, drug overdoses of any kind claimed more than 100,000 lives for the first time, and in 2022, the number of deaths remained about the same, surpassing gun deaths and motor vehicle deaths combined.
Lou Vallows initially pursued a career as a banker. However, an encounter with an undercover agent from the Drug Enforcement Administration led him to join the Justice Department, where he worked as an undercover agent for 25 years. (Providing research discovery)
The federal government counted more accidental overdose deaths in 2021 alone than in the 20-year period from 1979 to 1998. Overdoses are many times more frequent in recent years than during the black tar heroin epidemic led by former President Richard Nixon. starting the “war on drugs” and during the cocaine crisis of the 1980s.
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At the Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters in Arlington, a photo of Makayla Cox, who died of a fentanyl overdose at the age of 16, appears on the “Fentanyl Faces” wall, which displays photos of Americans who have died from fentanyl overdose. It is displayed together with a portrait. , Virginia, July 13, 2022. (Agnes Bunn/AFP via Getty Images)
Experts believe the spike in deaths is not only because the drug is so powerful, but also because fentanyl is mixed into many other illegal drugs.
Still, advocates warn that some of the alarm bells being sounded by politicians and officials are false and potentially dangerous.
Lou Vallows praised Oxford Police for their “impressive” efforts in fighting local drugs. (Providing research discovery)
Some of that thinking is that tightening controls at the U.S.-Mexico border could stem the flow of drugs, but experts say the key to curbing the crisis is reducing demand for drugs. Fentanyl may end up in children's trick-or-treating baskets this Halloween. And even the slightest exposure to the drug could cause death, but researchers believed this was not true.
Lou Vallows speaks with members of the Oxford Police Department. During his 25-year career as an undercover agent, Varose has faced off against the Chicago mob, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and domestic terrorists. (Providing research discovery)
Advocates have expressed concern that this information could deter first responders from administering life-saving treatment.
The premiere episode of “Operation Undercover” details the relationship between Mexico and Oxford in specific detail.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has warned that fentanyl is being sold in multi-colored pills and powders (also known as “rainbow fentanyl”) to teens and young adults on social media. (Providing research discovery)
“It's the same connection as almost every small town in this country,” Varose said. “The cartels are very business-like. They run their organizations the same way Fortune 500 companies run their organizations. They have major distribution hubs in the Southeast.”
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A 2022 report from a bipartisan federal commission found that fentanyl and similar drugs are primarily manufactured in Mexican laboratories from chemicals shipped from China. (Providing research discovery)
“Atlanta is a major distribution hub,” he said. “Obviously, Miami is a major distribution hub. And what they're doing is creating a region for distribution. It's done just like any other business.”
Barose said drug dealers are likely to develop “territories” in cities connected to major highways for faster access. Oxford is “almost in the middle” of Highway 20, he noted.
According to Operation Undercover, drug traffickers are turning to Oxford, Alabama, because of its easy access to Interstate 20. (Providing research discovery)
“Police are doing everything they can, including closing down highways, but it's not enough.” ”[But] Oxford Police are being proactive. A lot of drug activity and a lot of… sex trafficking… takes place in hotels right off the highway.
Oxford Police Department and Lou Vallows at the scene of the bust and search warrant. (Providing research discovery)
“They are actively working with informants and undercover agents to combat this problem, and they have achieved amazing results.”
During the filming, Varose said he was impressed with the way Oxford police handled the investigation.
Lou Varose (left) speaks with Sgt. Garrett Pesnell of the Oxford Police Department. (Providing research discovery)
“I come from the federal government and there are a lot of resources there,” he said. “A lot of times when you go to smaller cities, they don't have the same resources…but they were acting the same way we in the federal government do.
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Across the country, fentanyl is being mixed into drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine, sometimes with deadly results. In some cases, in Mexico and the United States, it is mixed with other substances and compressed into tablets in an attempt to resemble other drugs. (Providing research discovery)
“…They are doing their homework through intelligence gathering and surveillance. They know exactly who they are up against and they are working with other departments in the field, special forces. By the time an agent or undercover agent is sent into a situation, the deck is stacked in their favor to close the deal.
Police in a small community in the United States are battling deadly drugs being shipped across the border. (Providing research discovery)
“They spent weeks monitoring these people… They knew where they slept, they knew what their habits were, they knew what they were doing,” Varose said. continued. “So when you have this much information, you can make your secret deals as safe as possible… And on the flip side, when they took down these people, their preparation was just phenomenal. The SWAT team, the intelligence community, and the surveillance they did before executing the warrant was very impressive to me.”
Varose emphasized that the public's misconception about undercover investigations is that they are “unfair to one side.”
Lou Burrows (center) meets with Capt. Josh Miller and Sgt. Brad Young (left) of the Oxford Police Department. (Providing research discovery)
“The real situation is people are dying,” he said. “Whether it's fentanyl overdoses, heroin overdoses, gun violence, human slavery through human trafficking or sex trafficking, people are hurting…The purpose of these undercover operations is to and make our communities safer.”
Lou Vallows (left) meets with Inspector Josh Miller of the Oxford Police Department. (Providing research discovery)
“This has nothing to do with fame or fortune,” Varose recalled. “There's not a lot of praise. These are undercover agents, both men and women, working to make our communities safer.
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“If you watch Operation Undercover, I think you'll understand what they're doing and why they're doing it. Why these covert operations are essential to keeping our communities safe. You will truly understand.”
“Operation Undercover” will premiere on Tuesday, November 12th at 10pm, with new episodes airing weekly. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
