DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) –  Federal authorities say two separate drug-trafficking networks operating in North Texas have been dismantled, leading to charges against 38 people.

U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox announced the investigations Thursday and the seizure of firearms and narcotics.

She says one drug-trafficking organization operated out of Vernon and involved the distribution of methamphetamine using suppliers in Dallas and Fort Worth.

Twenty-five people are charged in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. A majority of them are from either Dallas or Vernon.

Authorities began investigating the drug ring in 2014.

She says the second case involved a drug-trafficking operation that moved meth and heroin to Wichita Falls from Dallas.

Thirteen people, almost all from Wichita Falls, have been charged in that case.

According to the Indictment filed in the case, the conspiracy began in March 2017, and operated until approximately January 10, 2018. The Indictment also contains a forfeiture notice that includes seven handguns and more than $20,000.

“These arrests are the results of a 14-month joint investigation with state, local and federal authorities,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox in a news release. “We have invested additional resources to fight the trafficking of dangerous drugs and violent crime in Wichita Falls, and we are now seeing the results of this increased presence.”

If convicted, each suspect faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
