FRANKFORT, Ky. — While many people are looking to stay cool in the summer sun, the Kentucky State Police Department has spent past number of weeks handling illicit drug activity in the commonwealth through "Operation Summer Heat." 

It was a three-month investigation into suspected drug trafficking rings by KSP. Officers seized more than 10 pounds of methamphetamine, more than one pound of fentanyl and nearly half a pound of cocaine.

KSP said the street value of the drugs seized was about $684,000. Phillip Burnett, KSP commissioner, said it was a mission to maintain public safety. 

“This statewide initiative is also a clear message across Kentucky that those who continue to distribute illegal drugs in our communities, the Kentucky State Police and our law enforcement partners, local and federal, will focus our efforts to cease such activities,” Burnett said. 

Most of the more than 200 arrests were made in Pikeville, Columbia, Elizabethtown and Madisonville.

“(It) was an opportunity to remove deadly narcotics from local communities and the money that drives this criminal activity, as well as other crimes," Burnett said. "Kentuckians and those targeted areas can sleep a little better tonight, knowing that these drug dealers have been removed from their communities." 

To the numbers in perspective, the Drug Enforcement Administration said two milligrams of fentanyl are considered a potentially lethal dose. Operation Summer Heat seized 277,000 potentially fatal doses.

“And what I'm most proud to report is that during this operation, there were no injuries, no injuries to our troopers' communities or even those that they arrested," said Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky. 

KSP reminds people suffering from addiction can be paired with an officer to help them get treatment through the agency’s “angel initiative.”