Gary, Indiana – Two men were arrested after drug raids in Gary and Lowell seized guns Friday.
According to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, the Sheriff’s Drug Task Force – Regional Enforcement Team conducted coordinated narcotics operations in both cities on Friday, March 13. The investigations targeted suspected neighborhood drug dealers and involved SWAT officers executing search warrants.
Authorities said 44-year-old Charles Trotter allegedly sold cocaine within 200 feet of 21st Century Charter School in Gary. Investigators identified him as a convicted felon.
A SWAT team executed a search warrant at a home in the 800 block of Adams Street in Gary, where officers reported seizing:
- 98 grams of cocaine
- 15.5 grams of fentanyl
- 47 grams of heroin
- 8 grams of marijuana
- 7 firearms
In a second operation, officers served a narcotics search warrant at a residence in the 16600 block of Morse Street in Lowell.
Police reported confiscating:
- 13.7 grams of cocaine
- 58 grams of THC products
- 15 firearms
Investigators also determined one of the recovered firearms had previously been reported stolen in Cedar Lake, according to the sheriff’s department.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Regional Enforcement Team is part of a HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) initiative, which combines officers from multiple law enforcement agencies to target narcotics trafficking across the region.
Trotter faces several charges, including alleged possession of narcotics with intent to distribute and weapons-related offenses. He was booked into the Lake County Jail, authorities said. Information about the second suspect was not immediately released.
Because the alleged drug sales occurred near a school, the case may be especially relevant to local students and families living nearby.
Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said removing neighborhood drug dealers helps reduce violent crime and drug-related violence in Lake County communities.
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