Over 300 Santa Clarita arrests were made by deputies with the Summer Crime Enforcement Team during their four-month mission of patrolling unincorporated parts of the valley, including one person who allegedly transported 40 pounds of methamphetamine, officials said.

The Summer Enforcement Crime Team is made up of five deputies led by one sergeant, said Shirley Miller, a spokesperson for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

Starting in the middle of May and ending the Friday following Labor Day, their task was to conduct proactive patrols throughout the summer months in the unincorporated areas of the Santa Clarita Valley, according to Sheriff’s officials.

“The reason why we were strictly in those areas is because the funding comes from the County Board of Supervisors,” said Sgt. Mike Pokorny, who led the Summer Crime Enforcement Team for the first time this year.

Deputies got to focus more on “the fun stuff,” which to Pokorny, means “putting bad guys in jail” instead of just answering everyday calls.

“They would assist in emergency or priority calls if they were seconds away,” Pokorny said.

Due to how fast things can change, the sergeant made sure to keep his crew working close to each other.

“I kept the deputies and myself pretty localized to each other,” Pokorny said. “That way, they knew they had deputies in close proximity if they needed help. Deputies have to do a lot of work by themselves. You can easily get spread out and get thinned super quick.”

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Over the span of the summer, the team made over 300 Santa Clarita arrests, Miller said.

Of those arrests, over 40 were on felony charges and nearly 100 were narcotics arrests.

While the majority of the arrests were a result of deputies proactively searching for crime, some came from partnering with other law enforcement teams, according to officials.

“I encouraged every deputy on my team to have different contacts outside the team, whether it was the narco or detective team, to see if we can help,” Pokorny said.

Two of the major arrests were for a suspect who allegedly transported over 40 pounds of methamphetamine, and an ex-felon who was discovered allegedly selling narcotics while in possession of a loaded, stolen gun, Miller said.

In addition, during a parole compliance search nine suspects were arrested on felony narcotics charges. Most of these arrests were made in the Castaic area near the truck stops, Pokorny added.

Now that the Summer Crime Enforcement Team operation is over, Pokorny noted he is proud of what his team was able to accomplish.

“I think all of them did an outstanding job,” he said. “They have families to support, and worked long hours in over 100-degree heat fighting crime.”

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