Police arrested four people Tuesday in an operation focused on fentanyl traffickers in downtown St. Paul, the department announced Wednesday.

A three-month investigation, Operation Cold Front, has been in response to fentanyl-related overdose deaths, according to police.

Law enforcement sought to identify drug dealers in downtown St. Paul around Higher Ground, which provides short- and long-term shelter for homeless people, “in response to complaints from the community about quality-of-life” and accompanying “issues caused by the open-air drug marketplace in the area,” according to criminal complaints.

“The drug dealers prey upon the addicted, the mentally ill and the homeless seeking shelter, food and assistance in that area,” the complaints continued.

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office has charged the four men, who were arrested Tuesday, with selling drugs. The suspects are 41, 49, 52 and 66.

During Tuesday’s effort, law enforcement also arrested an additional eight people who were wanted for other crimes, including one man in a St. Paul homicide and another man who was the alleged driver in a drive-by shooting that sent bullets into a residence in St. Paul.

“We continue our commitment to protecting our community from the devastating impact of fentanyl and other illegal drugs,” St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said in a Wednesday statement. “The results of these joint efforts also reinforce that violent crime will not be tolerated in our city.”

In one of the drug cases, an undercover officer and confidential informant went to the Higher Ground area in November and made contact with a 52-year-old man. He told the undercover officer he was selling M30 pills for $5 each and the officer bought six. One of the pills was examined and it tested positive for the presence of fentanyl, according to a criminal complaint.

Fentanyl was the main drug identified in opioid-involved deaths in Ramsey County in 2023 and was connected to 180 deaths, according to county data. There were 74 fentanyl-related deaths in Ramsey County in the first half of last year.

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