Members of the robbery, narcotics and gang units of the Miami-Dade Police Department teamed up on Thursday to make a series of arrests and confiscate illegal drugs and guns on the South-Miami Dade Busway, an area they have been monitoring carefully.
“This is going to be a zero tolerance, high-visibility operation, specifically to target robberies in the Busway,” said Miami-Dade Police Lt. Ricky Carter to his colleagues as they prepared to spread out and place themselves in a position to be ready the second a crime occurs.
Carter, who is running the operation, said Miami-Dade Transit’s Busway has been the setting for a string of robberies. “Right now, we’re on the Busway,” he told a 7News reporter as he drove to the location of one of the arrests. “This is where the majority of the robberies have been occurring lately in the South district.”
It did not take long for police to catch somebody breaking the law. At a nearby drug house, officers spotted a man buying the illicit merchandise. Authorities questioned the suspect and examined his sport utility vehicle, which had groceries and drugs inside. Police also found young children inside the vehicle.
“Unfortunately, we see it way too often” said Carter as he supervised the arrest. “People come to purchase narcotics, they have their children and loved ones inside the car, and these holes are very dangerous. These sellers are really bad people.”
Minutes later, a call came in which resulted in another drug-related arrest near a bus stop. Police confiscated a large plastic bag filled with marijuana.
Later on during the operation, many police units pulled into a gas station and made more arrests. Carter said the purpose of the operation is to take potentially dangerous criminals off the streets. “That’s why we target these locations and these types of offenders, so we can take a proactive approach at addressing these types of crimes, for the quality of life of the citizens of Miami-Dade County,” he said.
Authorities called the operation a success and confirmed there will be more like it in the future.