ANDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) – An undercover sweep has resulted in 84 drug related indictments against 40 people in Anderson County. By Wednesday afternoon, at least 18 of the 40 had been arrested and another 10 were already in jail on various other charges.

The sweep was conducted by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, but the key to its success was the cooperation of a number of other agencies. They included the Morgan and Campbell County Sheriff’s Departments, Lake City, Oliver Springs, and Oak Ridge Police Departments, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Anderson County District Attorney’s Office Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force and the Tennessee National Guard Counter Drug Task Force.

According to Anderson County Chief Deputy Mark Lucas, the on going undercover operation has helped shed light on how deeply the illegal drug trade has embedded itself in East Tennessee.

The arrests were related to selling, possessing or manufacturing a number of narcotics including marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and prescription drugs. The on going undercover operation has been able to hit the illegal drug trade hard, thanks to the large amount cooperation.

"This prevents drug dealers from hiding across jurisdictional lines,” said Dave Clark, the Anderson County District Attorney. “That’s not happening anymore in this district."

The sweep started early Wednesday morning, with deputies, officers, agents and task force members pooling their resources to track down suspects. That included following up on tips and complaints called in by the public.

"That’s what we go by, information from the community and its citizens,” said Anderson County Sheriff Paul N. White. “Without the input of the community, we really don't know who is doing what."

The undercover operation has been ongoing since late 2007. Prior to the most recent indictments, it had already resulted in 86 drug related arrests. In spite of the success and quick results, the sheriff’s department has no plans to slow down the operation.

"The drug thing is something we'll never get rid of,” said Sheriff White. “It's something that we will not give up on as long as I'm the Sheriff of Anderson County

Officials say they aren’t going to release the names of the most recent arrests for another few days, until all those connected to the indictments have been taken into custody.