9 arrested after search warrants served at 'The Zone' near downtown Phoenix

PHOENIX - Police say nine people were taken into custody after officers served drug-related search warrants on April 25 at "The Zone," a large homeless encampment near downtown Phoenix.

Phoenix Police said the raid happened after 7 a.m. near 9th Avenue and Jackson Street and was the culmination of several weeks worth of work in what they're calling a "crime suppression project."

Search warrants were served on three tents in "The Zone," and police say they used undercover operations to focus on certain people.

9 arrested after search warrants served at The Zone near downtown Phoenix

Police say nine people were taken into custody after officers served drug-related search warrants on April 25 at "The Zone," a large homeless encampment near downtown Phoenix. FOX 10s Linda Williams reports.

"Obviously, we have a lot of issues we're dealing with down here, and so we put together a crime suppression program to try to root out the main offenders down here that are victimizing the individuals out here that are experiencing homelessness," said Lt. David Seitter. "There's been a lot of fentanyl deaths, fentanyl sales. These are the ones that are coming in and victimizing people and they're distributing drugs to the entire community down here. They're pushing guns down here. During this operation, we've taken multiple firearms."

Seitter added that police took all nine people they were seeking into custody, and their goal was to target key individuals and get them off the streets today.