Operation 'Growing Pains' Results in Arrests in Bristow, Gainesville

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policecrusiercloseDetectives from the Prince William County, Manassas City and Manassas Park Narcotics Task Forces concluded a four-month operation May 28, which concentrated on late teens and young adults abusing drugs in the community.

"Through the course of the operation undercover detectives conducted dealings involving cocaine, LSD, psilocybin, pharmaceutical pills, marijuana and concentrated marijuana 'wax'," police spokesman Officer Jonathan Perok said. "As a result, detectives obtained warrants for 26 individuals, 19 of which are now in custody."

Warrants were issued for locations in the 8600 block of Ellesmere Way, the 15000 block of Bannon Way in Woodbridge, the 9000 block of McClellan Common in Manassas and the residence of a juvenile in Gainesville.

Operation "Growing Pains," which began in February, was a countywide initiative to address drug use and addiction.

"The goal of the operation was to acknowledge this issue and take the necessary enforcement action in hopes of deterring future use amongst teens and young adults," Perok said. "The operation included the necessary enforcement of state law but also continued the educational initiative regarding the dangers of narcotics use and addiction. When an arrest was made, those who sought help for drug use or addiction issues were provided with the necessary resources."

Among the 26 individuals for whom the police obtained  warrants, six are from Bristow, five are from Gainesville and one individual is from Nokesville.

The complete list of arrests is located here.

While not officially part of the operation, police arrested six students at Patriot High School early February on drug charges.

"The planning for this operation began late last year with it becoming more finalized and officially beginning in February," he said.  "This earlier incident occurred during the planning process."

"Growing Pains" follows two previous operations, “Blue Dragon” in 2013 and “Dragon Slayer” in 2014," which attempted to remove and educate street-level users and distributors of prescription pain medications and heroin. These two operations resulted in over 100 arrested and 26 searches.

"Since  included the arrest of younger offenders in the community, follow-up information will continue to be provided publically through the department’s social media forums to those who are concerned about suspected drug use and/or addiction with their children," Perok said.

The Prince William County Police Department hopes parents will take the time to learn the warning signs of drug abuse in their children and to secure prescription medications in their homes.

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