The Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office Drug Task Force made a strong show of force Friday night, Sept. 5, on the streets of Bogalusa.

Sixteen officers, comprised of Sheriff’s Office detectives and deputies, Bogalusa police officers and Franklinton police officers worked several neighborhoods in Bogalusa looking for signs of drug activity. Sheriff Randy Seal accompanied the officers as they targeted areas that are known to be hotbeds of illegal drug dealing.

During the evening, several groups voluntarily dispersed when officers entered the area in which they had gathered. Most fled quickly on foot when officers appeared, some leaving drugs behind. At one abandoned house, dominoes were left on the porch in playing position, and drugs were left behind, scattered both inside and outside the house.

Six arrests were made during the evening. Three were arrested and remanded to the custody of the Bogalusa Police Department for processing. Three others were arrested and transported to the Washington Parish Jail. Those three were:

• Travis C. Parrott, 26, Bogalusa, who was arrested on five outstanding attachments;

• Stephen Darnell Morris 22, Bogalusa, who was arrested on two outstanding attachments and resisting an officer by flight on foot; and

• Tony Joseph Normand, 35, of Fort Smith, Ark., and formerly of Bogalusa, who was arrested and charged with possession of Schedule II drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia.

“This was just a prelude for what we have planned for drug dealers in Bogalusa,” Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal said. “We will be back in force, and we will do all we can to disrupt their illegal drug dealing in the neighborhoods of Bogalusa. It was rewarding for me to observe all of these fine officers in action as they were working to protect the honest citizens of Bogalusa. We will be doing this again and without notice to the drug dealers. It may be on another Friday night or it may be any other time during the week, but we will be back. I appreciate the cooperation and assistance of Bogalusa Chief Joe Culpepper and Franklinton Chief Donald Folse.”

Any citizen of Bogalusa or elsewhere in the parish who knows of illegal criminal activity in their neighborhood can notify the Sheriff’s Office by calling 984-839-3434 or by going to the Sheriff’s Office website at www.wpsoweb.com.