Early Tuesday morning, 17 Laconia police officers fanned out across several towns, including Concord, to arrest 12 individuals wanted for drug possession and distribution charges.

The operation began at 6 a.m. with officers executing warrants on the individuals, according to Laconia Capt. Matthew Canfield. It would not have been possible without funds from the Granite Hammer grant, which provides funding to police departments in an effort to crack down on drug trafficking.

The $1.5 million grant was announced by Gov. Maggie Hassan in September, but was not available to police departments until November. All departments that requested funding received it, according to Hassan. Laconia received about $76,956.

The funds allowed Laconia to cover regular patrol shifts while the operation took place, Canfield said. He said most officers were in the office by 5:30 a.m. – and by 11 a.m., the majority of the suspects were in custody. He did not know how much grant money was used on the operation.

The majority of the warrants were out of Laconia, Canfield said, and officers worked with the New Hampshire Drug Task Force and police in Concord, Meredith and Gilford to make several of the arrests. Five of the people arrested were already incarcerated, police said.

The investigation started about six to eight weeks ago, and required techniques such as observation, using an undercover police officer to buy drugs from suspects, and using informants. Executing the sweep all at once was also important, because some of the cases are related, Canfield said.

As a result of the investigation, the following individuals were arrested at these locations:

Joseph Marquis, 26, 204 Garfield St., Laconia, one count of sale of controlled drugs.

Bounthavy Sonthikoummane, 35, 25 Mitchell Place, Laconia, one count of sale of controlled drugs.

Alfred Gosselin, 38, 69 Potter Hill Road, Gilford, three counts of sale of controlled drugs.

Travis Knowlton, 24, 137 Belvidere St., Gilford, three counts of sale of controlled drugs.

Kimmel Norwood, age unknown, 21 Gilbert St., Laconia, one count of sale of controlled drugs.

Shaine Beaulieu, age unknown, 21 Gilbert St., Laconia, one count of conspiracy.

Brandy McGirr, 32, Belknap County Jail, one count of possession of controlled substance.

Michael Brown, 32, Belknap County Jail, one count of criminal liability for another.

Natausha DeRoche, 22, 35b Lang St., Meredith, two counts of possession of controlled substance.

Todd Lachance, 32, N.H. State Prison, one count of drugs in a motor vehicle.

Stephen Brue, 32, N.H. State Prison, one count of possession of a controlled drug, one count of falsifying physical evidence.

Austin Brue, 23, N.H. State Prison, one count of sale of controlled drugs.

(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)

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