MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Martinsburg Police Chief George Swartwood is proud of the men and women of his force every day, but last month, they outdid themselves.
In the evening hours of April 27th. 2021, the Eastern Panhandle Drugs & Violent Crimes Task Force and the Martinsburg City Police Department Detective Unit and Uniformed Patrol Division, were involved in a combined effort investigation which resulted in a traffic stop of a vehicle on South Queen Street.
This investigation and a subsequent investigation produced a very large seizure of controlled substances and other items of evidentiary value, according to the Martinsburg Police Department.
Seized in this stop were 5 ounces of pure Fentanyl, 8 ounces of Crack Cocaine, 1 ounce of Heroin, 13 ounces of Heroin & Fentanyl mix, a 40-caliber handgun and $16,470 in U.S. currency. The investigation is ongoing at this time.
“It was a profound stop and seizure of extremely hard drugs that have plagued this area and others,” according to Martinsburg Police Chief George Swartwood.
He tells the Panhandle News Network it was a record-breaking seizure. “That is a huge amount of drugs. In my 37 years, that is the biggest stop and the biggest amount of drugs seized from a one-vehicle stop that I’ve ever seen.”
Swartwood and Deputy Chief Erin Gibbons were guests on Panhandle Live this week on the Panhandle News Network. You can hear the full interview on the Panhandle Live Facebook page.