Officers conducted a sweep over a two-month long course in which they sought out drug dealers and resulted in 43 arrests, police reported on Sunday.

The operation began in April and was centralized in downtown neighborhoods, including the C Street Corridor, East Village, Horton Plaza and Core-Columbia.

San Diego police report that they took the suspects on a number of felonies for selling rock cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. They were later evaluated and found guilty by a grand jury.

Some of the suspects were a part of street gangs, 14 were on active parole at the time and 10 were on probation, police reported.

The sweep went by the name of “Operation V8” and more information is to come.

A man charged of being a huge marijuana transporter and seller from Mexico to the United States was sentenced Friday to 11 years and three months in prison.

Fidel Chan Amador, 42, who lived in Mexicali, pleaded guilty in November to planning to transport thousands of pounds of marijuana across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Chan was indicted in San Diego in 1999, where he stayed for the majority of his time until he was taken into custody in Mexicali in November 2005 on Mexican charges of murder, kidnapping and organized crime. He detained in jail in Mexico City until he was sent to the U.S. for the rest of his criminal process.

He is charged with planning to transport large shipments of marijuana through the Otay Mesa Port of Entry from 1996 to 1999, federal authorities reported.

Chief U.S. District Judge Irma E. Gonzalez also sentenced Chan on Friday to receive five years of probation after he serves his jail sentence.

Chan’s sister, Lilia Chan Amador, is another player in the conspiracy incident. She was found guilty in federal court of making payoffs to help promote the distribution of marijuana.

A previous high-ranked lieutenant in the Arellano Félix drug organization entered a guilty plea to charges of racketeering and conspiracy in federal court Monday, the most recent in a line of former top officials in the drug gang to plead guilty. 

Efraín Pérez admitted to one account of racketeering and another of conspiracy to use and put money in illegal drug profits and selling. According to court records, Pérez worked as Ismael Higuera Guerrero’s most trusted assistant. Guerrero was the head of the drug cartel. 

Both Pérez and Guerrero were to blame for starting and organizing huge drug shipments leaving Mexico and destined for the US by passing through Tijuana, and they strongly pushed for gang violence in order to be in charge of smuggling in Tijuana and Ensenada.  

Late Friday afternoon Armando Martínez Duarte also admitted he was guilty to charges of racketeering. He was the head of security for the group at the same time that he was working as a federal law enforcement officer in Mexico. He enforced policies in the organization’s name in Mexicali without mercy for others, he is believed to have approved and enforced the torture and murder of many people.

Also last week, Jesús “Chuy” Labra Aviles, another older top official admitted he was guilty.  

All four could possibly be sentenced to serve up to 30 years in prison.

Four smoke shops thought to be guilty of selling marijuana  suspected of selling marijuana equipment were surprise attacked by police on Thursday, the city attorney’s office reported. 

San Diego police searched the following shops after being issued search warrants: 

 420 Smoke Shop on Voltaire Street near Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in Ocean Beach.

 Freak Factory on Mission Boulevard near Pismo Court in Mission Beach.

 Smoke-n-Stuff on Mission Gorge Road, north of Interstate 8 in Grantville.

 Up in Smoke on El Cajon Blvd near 72nd Street near Rolando and the College Area.

Officials have been receiving calls and reports from people living in the area saying that they were not happy with the businesses in the area, officials stated. 

Officers took hold of marijuana pipes and other equipment used to smoke drugs during the search.  

The searches prompted from an undercover operation on June 4 in which underage people working with the police bought drugs from the shops. 

City attorney officials report that the clerks working at the smoke-shops are being accused of failing to follow the state’s health and safety code for selling the drug equipment.