LINCOLNTON (AP) — Lincoln County authorities say 36 people have been arrested in a drug roundup.
Sheriff’s deputies say “Operation Route 66” started at 6 a.m. Wednesday and was aimed at some of the county’s leading drug dealers.
Deputies and narcotics agents were looking for 66 people indicted by a grand jury last week. A sheriff’s spokesman says the suspects include street-level dealers,  high-level traffickers and some first-time offenders.
The roundup is the result of an undercover investigation that began in May. The sheriff’s office said many of the suspects were targeted from information from a drug tip line.
Investigators say the rest of the warrants have been turned over to patrol officers.