The local drug trafficking operation that was busted recently was responsible for more than 90 percent of the fentanyl being brought into Owensboro, according to officials with the Owensboro Police Department. While that is a major win, officials know someone else will step in to fill the void.
More than 3.5 pounds of counterfeit pills with suspected deadly fentanyl — enough for 15,000-20,000 doses — was seized after a long-term investigation into the Willie Watkins Drug Trafficking Organization. Another major part of the bust was the seizure of about 151 pounds of meth — enough for roughly 500,000 doses.
Owensboro Police Chief Art Ealum said they are “certain” that Watkins’ organization accounted for nearly all of the fentanyl flooding Owensboro’s streets.
“Fentanyl is one of the most lethal drugs out there, destroying families and lives,” he said. “That’s a success story to stop that.”
He knows the story doesn’t end there. There’s now a void that will inevitably be filled.
“We have a supply and demand,” Ealum said of the drug problem in Owensboro. “We have a lot of people who want it and people who are addicted, and people that are willing to prey on those individuals for profit. … This investigation has been going on for a while. Our officers have been dedicated to bringing this to a successful conclusion, but our work’s not done. You take one drug dealer off the street, another one pops up.”
The drug bust was possible only through a collaboration of agencies from the local to federal level, though it began with the OPD Street Crimes Unit in July 2020.
“We got started at a very low level, and we just worked our way up through drug investigations,” said OPD Sgt. Kris Collins, who helped lead the unit. “A lot of work involved in it. It’s very tedious and time-consuming. But it’s very beneficial if it’s successful.”
Collins also said his team was “confident this individual was sourcing most of the fentanyl pills to Owensboro.”
That’s why he said they weren’t surprised by how much narcotics were seized from the drug trafficking operation.
“We presumed it was going to be a lot based on the amount we’d been seeing locally,” he said. “We knew when they brought a big load here there would be a lot of it and they would disseminate it to various people when it got here, but we were only catching small parts of it. So that’s why we worked so tirelessly to find out who was bringing it to our area. And then once we got that intelligence we acted on it. We expected to see this.”
Collins also said his team was proud to take such a large quantity of deadly drugs off the street, but like Ealum, he knows the war is far from over.
“It takes one pill for somebody to overdose,” Collins said. “(This bust) is a pretty significant (dent in the supply). Unfortunately it’s an ongoing battle because somebody will fill the vacuum. It’s an ongoing fight.”
Law enforcement officials said they know the fight will continue on, but they are prepared to keep taking down dealers and organizations.
“These drugs aren’t going away,” said United States Attorney Russell Coleman. “There’s a market here, there’s a market in western Kentucky and Louisville that’s bringing this poison. You bring this poison here to this district, to Owensboro, we’re going to take your dope and we’re going to send you to federal prison.”
Coleman said this bust is a promise delivered after local, state and federal agencies held a drug summit in Owensboro late last year. “I promised several months ago you would see (federal agencie) more present here. And you will see us more present here going forward.”
In addition to the counterfeit pills with suspected deadly fentanyl and the methamphetamine, law enforcement recovered approximately 21 pounds of marijuana, approximately nine pounds of THC edibles, approximately 14 pounds of THC-related vape products, and approximately one gram of ecstasy.
Willie Watkins, 30; Christopher McNary, 31; Richard Cason Jr., 29; Keith Watkins, 27; and Samuel White, 29 — all of Owensboro — were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute 500 grams or more of a substance including methamphetamine, and conspiracy to possess and distribute 400 grams or more of a substance containing fentanyl.
More details on the seizure and investigation can be found here.
