Butler County Sheriff Craig Murphy stated that the cooperative effort of Wichita Area Law Enforcement resulted in raids last Thursday of several locations in Butler and Sedgwick counties.

On Thursday, June 12 a task force of agencies went to work raiding and arresting seven people on Federal drug charges. DEA-Task Force, Wichita Police Dept., Sedgwick County Sheriff Office, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kansas Highway Patrol, Haysville Police, and the Butler County Sheriff Office teamed up to accomplish the task.

A rural Andover resident 43-year-old Richard Sebbo was among seven people arrested and charged with the dealing of meth, cocaine, and marijuana. Butler County investigators had been investigating Sebbo since May 2007, which resulted in the undercover purchase of a sizable amount of meth. It became known through investigation that Sebbo was considered a major dealer in the Butler County area by this task force. Federal Prosecutors say that this particular “drug ring” netted more than $1 million over a six-month period. It is expected that $1.3 million worth of real estate, cash, and vehicles will be seized.

Sheriff Murphy states that this type of “Task Force” operation presents so many resources that we are able to “take the head off the snake” so to speak. This is the type of operation that can hurt drug dealers and is disruptive to those who profit from drug sales. There will always be drugs and drug users and it is a problem, but former methods used were not productive to do what this has done. It is more cost effective and a better use of our time and manpower to have this type of operation with the resources that it brings with it.

 Sheriff Murphy added that in late May his office also arrested four individuals on warrants for “Violation of Unlawful Purchase of Pseudo Ephedrine or Ephedrine”.

Sheriff Murphy said that his investigators are monitoring pharmacies in Butler County and this is how these four arrests were made.