OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY) — The marshal’s office in Opelousas continues their relentless pursuit to get drugs, guns and violent offenders off the streets with their criminal interdiction street crimes unit.

“We have enough drugs here that we took off the streets to kill half of the people in Opelousas,” Opelousas City Marshal Paul Mouton said. “That’s just how bad the drug problem is.”

Following an influx of violent crimes across the city, Mouton said the decision was made to move deputies off the interstate and onto the high crime neighborhoods of Opelousas to focus on finding these offenders.

As a result of that decision, marshal deputies have made 10 arrests in under one month, leading to the seizing of several firearms and more than three ounces of fentanyl along with other narcotics.

“The interdiction team has been very very effective,” Assistant City Marshal Louis Armstrong said. “We have a team of highly motivated deputies that get out and get it every single day. Sometimes it’s our reserve deputies that are in the teams as well, those guys get out and get these drugs off the streets and they’re not even paid for it.”

Even with their reserve deputies, Mouton said his office is still shorthanded, underfunded and in need of additional resources.

The Opelousas City Marshal’s Office has received funding from state representative Dustin Miller but hopes the effectiveness of the interdiction team can lead to additional funding to assist in the fight.

“We’re really shorthanded,” Mouton said. “We need more manpower. We need more equipment so that we can do a better job and also work with other law enforcement. We’re going to try to stay with it.”