Cocaine bust

ANDREWS Andrews County sheriff deputies, Andrews police officers and Drug Enforcement Agency investigators apprehended 14 suspects Thursday in connection to a cocaine trafficking operation, Andrews Sheriff Chief Deputy Cheryl Martin said Friday.

The 14 suspects were given varying felony federal and state charges after several locations were raided in Andrews County. Accusations against those arrested include conspiring to manufacture and distribute cocaine and the distribution of a controlled substance.

"The arrests that were made (Thursday) were based on undercover investigations" that took place over the past three months, Martin said.

Martin refused to release the names of those arrested, stating that release would "jeopardize the investigation." The Odessa American filed a Freedom of Information request requesting the names, but Martin said the department and county attorney would not respond to it Friday.

According to Texas open records laws, arrest records are public records.

When asked specifics about the cocaine arrests, Martin only repeated that the arrests were based on an ongoing investigation.

She stated that 12 of the 14 were apprehended in Andrews, while one was found in Gaines County and another in Ector County.

The arrests were connected to a methamphetamine bust made last month in Andrews involving seven other suspects.