HAHNVILLE – The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested 38 suspects on a total of 69 charges over the past three months as part of a year-long undercover narcotics operation targeting drug dealers in the parish, said Sheriff Greg Champagne Wednesday.

Champagne said additional suspects are wanted in connection with the investigation, which has spanned more than eight months. He said more arrests are expected in the coming days.

The Sheriff’s Office worked in conjunction with the St. Charles District Attorney’s Office and parish judges to stagger the arrests so the cases could be evenly distributed within the three different court divisions. Champagne said most of the arrests were for the illegal sale of cocaine, crack cocaine, Xanax, heroin and morphine. He said the arrests could result in a decrease in other crimes in the parish.

“There has long been a correlation between drug sales and property crimes in St. Charles Parish,” Champagne said. “Upon putting the drug dealers behind bars, it was not surprising when the property crime rates decreased.”