A three-year undercover investigation led by law officers in west-central Nebraska disrupted a meth-fentanyl distribution network in the Midwest. For that, the task force has received a prestigious award.

The intensive investigation culminated Jan. 23, 2024 in a series of arrests of more than 56 suspects, with most of them rounded up in a coordinated sweep early that morning.

Significant quantities of illicit drugs, cash, and firearms were seized, and more arrests were expected in the following days, U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr said.

The CODE (Cooperative Operations for Drug Enforcement) task force of officers in west central and southwest Nebraska led the investigation.

On Monday, April 7, they received law enforcement’s Community Impact award for their effort. The award was presented at a press conference at the Nebraska State Patrol headquarters in North Platte.  

As a result of the January 2024 sweep, 36 people were indicted on federal drug trafficking charges and 22 others were prosecuted on state/local charges. Many of them have been sentenced to long prison terms.

The effort began in February 2021 within the North Platte and Omaha FBI, spreading to the Lexington police, Dawson County Sheriff and other agencies, including the Lincoln police. Investigators found the network of dealers was operating not only in Nebraska, but also in Colorado, California, Kansas and Missouri, distributing drugs that originated in Mexico, FBI Special Agent Eugene Kowel of Omaha said.

Three years later, 150 officers joined to conduct the statewide bust, dismantling a meth and fentanyl network in western Nebraska.

The bust significantly disrupted the flow of drugs across the United States, said Dan Neill, the executive director of Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a wider coalition of law officers.  

The task force of cooperating drug enforcement agencies (CODE) is comprised of agencies throughout a 22-county area in west-central/southwest Nebraska, including but not limited to the North Platte police, Lexington police, Ogallala police, Dawson County sheriff’s office, county attorneys in Lincoln and Keith counties and the Nebraska District 11 Probation Office.

Neill presented the award to FBI Special Agent Eugene Kowel and Col. John Bolduc, the superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol.

Kowel and Bolduc accepted the award on behalf of the officers, troopers, deputies and agents who teamed up to conduct the investigation but could not step forward without jeopardizing their ongoing work. They are the real heroes who deserve the award, Kowel said.

Bolduc called the work of CODE “a tremendous public safety initiative that has positively benefited several communities in the area for a very long time.”

Kowel said the officers work “side by side every day.”

Neill said rural areas are far from immune from drug dealers. On the contrary, dealers often prefer to operate from rural areas to take advantage of the lack of observation and sparse population.   

The effort also involved dozens of other law officers working together including the FBI, the Nebraska State Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, Army National Guard Counter Drug Unit, the U.S. Postal Service, the Tri-Cities (Grand Island, Hastings, Kearney) Drug Enforcement Team (TRIDENT), the Western Intelligence Narcotics Group (WING).

Eastern Nebraska agencies also pitched in – the La Vista Police, the Capitol Region Safe Streets Task Force (CRSSTF) and the Lincoln/Lancaster County Metro Fugitive Task Force.

Bolduc and Kowel emphasized the importance of residents reporting suspected drug activity. Tips can be submitted online at Lincoln County Crimestoppers, the Nebraska State Patrol and the FBI. Call the FBI Omaha office at 402-493-8688 or the Nebraska Crime Stoppers tipline at 1-800-422-1494.

“We will investigate tips in major cities and the smallest towns,” Kowel said.

The Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) is comprised of 73 designated counties in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Illinois. The CODE task forces is one of several task forces operating in in that area.

That area encompasses a population of more than 15 million people, making it one of the most populous of the 33 HIDTAs in the United States, as well as the most geographically expansive at 428,000 square miles.  

In addition, the Midwest HIDTA has more than 4,300 miles of interstate highways and an international border spanning 300 miles.

It is a big territory to cover, making reports of suspected drug trafficking a core part of their efforts.

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