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NEDERLAND — The hunt for meth dealers in Port Arthur swelled with the help of neighboring police agencies and federal agents, leading to an arrest Thursday in Nederland.

The U.S. Marshall’s Fugitive Apprehension Team, the Nederland Police Department, Port Arthur Police Narcotics and Gun Unit members and DEA served a federal arrest warrant in the 1300 block of North 18th Street.

The target — 29-year-old Troy Michael Reese.

PAPD Det. Sadie Guedry said the federal arrest warrant stemmed from a 2019 joint undercover narcotics operation conducted by the DEA and PAPD Narcotics and Gun Unit members targeting “methamphetamine dealers in the City of Port Arthur.”

“During the arrest operation, Reese was apprehended without incident and a subsequent search warrant was obtained for the residence,” Guedry said. “During the search, officers located an additional 8-ounces of methamphetamine and two rifles.”

Nederland Police Chief Gary Porter called the operation a good team effort, adding the problem with methamphetamines impacts Nederland, Port Arthur and all other cities, as well.

“This arrest probably cut down on the amount of methamphetamines on the streets in Mid County, for a time,” Porter said.

Porter said the half-pound of methamphetamines that was confiscated is a large amount of narcotics.

He also added there will likely be more arrests in this case in the future.