Undercover operation in San Diego’s East Village results in drug, weapons indictments for 37

An undercover operation targeting street-level drug dealing in downtown San Diego has resulted in criminal indictments against 37 individuals, mostly for selling fentanyl, methamphetamine and crack cocaine out in the open in the East Village neighborhood, authorities announced Monday.

The operation, dubbed “Street Sweeper,” involved surveillance and controlled drug purchases by undercover officers from the San Diego Police Department and a federal anti-fentanyl team last September and October. On Thursday, law enforcement officers arrested 23 of the 37 defendants against whom prosecutors had built cases and obtained indictments.

“This operation focused on hand-to-hand drug sales; this was brazen drug dealing happening out in the open, over and over, on our sidewalks, near homes and near businesses,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said at a Monday morning news conference.

“When drug dealing festers, the big concern for public safety … is not just about drug dealing, it is the violence and the crime that come along with it,” Stephan said. “This is the chaos that we wanted to stop through Operation Street Sweeper.”

Authorities charged 34 of the defendants in San Diego Superior Court. The other three were indicted on federal charges in U.S. District Court, two on gun counts and one on a drug charge.

Stephan said that while San Diego law enforcement agencies often go after organized crime groups and bulk drug suppliers, the operation announc...