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GREELEY — Greeley and Weld County undercover officers are taking more suspected drug dealers off the streets.

Since May, authorities have brought almost 40 felony cases against at least 14 suspected drug dealers in Weld, many in Greeley. That’s not including the 36 cases from two busts they sent up to federal courts during that time.

Overall, Greeley tops the region in narcotics arrests — including everything from possession to distribution — with 407 in 2008, according to the recently released Colorado Bureau of Investigation Crime in Colorado Report. Even though the number of drug-related arrests in Greeley in 2008 were down 17 percent from 2007, the volume still tops Loveland and Fort Collins by about 100 each.

Authorities wouldn’t say whether the recent arrests were higher than other years but did note that it was part of their continued crusade to clean up the streets.

“The short answer is we’re taking a much more aggressive response toward drug dealers, weapons sellers and gang members, and putting more resources into that than we ever had before,” said Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner. “I think you’re seeing the results of some added pressure our officers are putting on them. We’re not solving the problem, but we’re going to make it better and better.”

The reason for the rash of arrests also may just be the timing of the cases that officers work, said Mark Jones, the lieutenant in charge of the Weld County Drug Task Force. It takes time for officers to develop the cases, and it may be that they have come to their natural conclusion at the same time.

“Sometimes, we’ll work a number of cases, then clean up a bunch of them at the same time, so you see a spike,” Jones said.

The task force typically investigates about 185 drug-distribution cases a year, with an average of 140 to 150 arrests, Jones said. In 2008, it made 154 arrests, which was up significantly from the 116 in 2007 but down from 162 cases in 2006.

And that, he said, is only limited by the number of officers working the streets.

“If we had more manpower, we’d get a lot more cases,” Jones said. “I honestly and firmly believe if you just gave up and quit working (these cases), it would be catastrophic.”

Read the rest of this story and see a list of the alleged drug dealers at .