ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Tens of thousands of fentanyl pills are off the streets of Albuquerque. Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies made a major bust Thursday night in northeast Albuquerque. 

BCSO Sheriff John Allen says this arrest was made possible thanks to the fairly new Route 66 Operation. That operation is a joint effort between multiple county agencies to fight crime along the Central Avenue Corridor. 

“Other than getting them off the streets, we just saved a bunch of people’s lives,” said Allen. 

Deputies say they found over 26,000 fentanyl pills on 21-year-old Luis Flores when he was arrested during a violent chase Thursday night in northeast Albuquerque. 

“Another adult feeding on the most vulnerable, getting that death drug off our streets. That puts a dent into it,” said Allen. 

The sheriff’s office says Flores nearly crashed into innocent drivers, and rammed a sheriff’s vehicle at the CVS on San Mateo and Montgomery before he was taken into custody. 

A 16-year-old was also in the car. Deputies say they found the huge stash of drugs in Flores’ backpack. 

“They are more of an upper level person, and they have been doing this for a while and know what they are doing,” Allen said. 

Flores’ arrest is part of Operation Route 66. It’s a joint effort between the sheriff’s office, state police, the district attorney, the Department of Corrections to target crime around the troubled International District. 

“But as I’ve explained, Central is a vein to all of Albuquerque and to the community. The crime branches out,” said Allen.

The sheriff says more than 400 people have been arrested as part of the effort. 

“We are going after drivers of crime in the community. When you have three to seven people driving the crime in that community, you will see a significant difference,” Allen said. 

Allen believes their work is making a difference. 

“We are getting a lot of people out of there that should not belong in that area. That community has been terrorized for far too long,” said Allen. 

The sheriff says the initial plan for Operation Route 66 has it going until May, but he says they have the funding, resources and personnel to keep it going long-term.

He says partner agencies will get together and re-evaluate how to improve the operation even more. 

May also happens to be around the time when the governor and Albuquerque city leaders say National Guard troops will be deployed to help APD.  

KOB 4 asked him about the upcoming operation. He said there have been talks with him and the governor’s office about the National Guard and BCSO’s role. Those talks surrounded deputizing those members, meaning essentially giving them law enforcement capabilities, but the sheriff says he was not on board with that.

“Right now, absolutely not. Way too much liability, as I’ve stated before, way too many questions. I believe it’ll send the wrong message that law enforcement can’t do their jobs in the community,” said Allen. 

The sheriff says while he supports the governor doing what she can to help tackle the crime problem, but there are still too many unknowns about the operation for him to get his department involved..