SALT LAKE CITY — A multi-agency operation led to a major drug trafficking investigation that turned up a large amount of illegal bath salts, as well as millions in cash in the Salt Lake City area.
The Salt Lake City Police Department, along with the DEA and Homeland Security, were part of the operations that targeted the widespread distribution of bath salts in northern Utah.
Bath salts are a synthetic stimulant designed to mimic the affects of methamphetamines. They are often sold in smoke shops or the internet, and can lead to agitation, paranoia, delusions, aggression and death.
During the investigation, police and agents with the DEA Task Force made 25 arrests and were able to seize 40 kilos of bath salts, along with $6 million in real estate and $2.5 million in cash and assets.
"The people involved in this investigation thought they could avoid accountability and live a lavish lifestyle. Make no mistake, we will not drug trafficking go unchecked in Salt Lake City or in the State of Utah," said Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown.
Brown said the highly-skilled drug trafficking organizations using numerous methods to hide their operations, and that the drugs come into Salt Lake City from Mexico and China, after being funneled through Los Angeles, Denver and Seattle.
Watch full drug trafficking investigation briefing below
"Salt Lake City and Utah are by no means immune to the national and international drug trade," he added.
During a briefing Tuesday with other members of the investigation, Dustin Gillespie, who serves as an Asst. Special Agent with the DEA, said Utah is in the midst of an opioid epidemic, and bath salts are a major part of the problem.
"Bath salts are highly-addictive poison that can lead to substance use disorder," said Gillespie.
