Multi-Agency Operation Arrests Grants Pass Fentanyl Dealer with Illegal Firearms

Grants Pass Police Department

Grants Pass, Ore. – This morning at approximately 9:30 a.m., the Grants Pass Police Department, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Rogue Area Drug Enforcement Team (RADE), U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Central Point Police Department, and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant on a residence on Lower River Road just outside the city limits of Grants Pass. The operation was the culmination of an ongoing multi-agency effort to impact the sales of Fentanyl in Southern Oregon.

The search recovered over one-half pound of Fentanyl, numerous firearms, and a 3-D printer used for printing “ghost guns.” After numerous suspicious devices were found, the Oregon State Police Bomb Squad also responded to the scene to render the devices safe.

Investigators arrested Christopher Smith, a 38-year-old male, who was living in a trailer on his parents’ property. Smith was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on charges of Delivery and Possession of Controlled Substances – Fentanyl. Additionally, he will be facing federal firearms charges.

The RADE team is a multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force that identifies, disrupts, and dismantles local, multi-state, and international drug trafficking organizations using an intelligence-driven, multi-agency, prosecutor-supported approach. RADE is supported by the Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), composed of members from the Grants Pass Police Department, Oregon State Police, Josephine County Community Corrections, and the Josephine County District Attorney's Office.

The Oregon-Idaho HIDTA program is an Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) sponsored counterdrug grant program that coordinates with and provides funding resources to multi-agency drug enforcement initiatives, including RADE.