Local News

A multi-agency investigation led to the arrest of a Grants Pass man for fentanyl trafficking late last week.

Last Thursday morning, Rogue Area Drug Enforcement (RADE) Team, US Drug Enforcement Administration, US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Grants Pass Police Department, Central Point Police Department and Jackson County Sheriff's Office served a search warrant on a Lower River Road residence just west of the city limits.

RADE officials said 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 making "ghost guns." The Oregon State Police Bomb Squad was also called in to render numerous other suspicious devices safe.

Investigators arrested 38-year-old Christopher Michael Smith who was living in a trailer on his parents' property. Smith was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Manufacture and Delivery of Fentanyl plus Possession of Fentanyl. They said he will also be facing federal firearms charges. He is being held without bail pending his Circuit Court arraignment this afternoon.

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 and prosecutor-supported approach.

RADE is supported by the Oregon-Idaho High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, which is composed of members from the Grants Pass Police Department, Oregon State Police, Josephine County Community Corrections and the Josephine County District Attorney's Office.