The federal district court in North Dakota has received a national award for Operation Stolen Youth, an investigation of synthetic drug trafficking triggered by two overdose deaths in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, according to a press release.
U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota Timothy Purdon said in the release that the national award is the first to ever be awarded to North Dakota agents, prosecutors and staff. The award, called the National Award for Outstanding Investigation for Creative Response to an Emerging Public Safety Threat, recognizes federal prosecutors, federal investigators and state law enforcement officers who played a part in the investigation and prosecution of drug traffickers linked to the two overdose deaths, according to the release.
The investigation led to the prosecution and conviction of 15 people, including Charles William Carlton, of Katy, Texas, who is considered the leader of the drug operation and was sentenced to 20 years and six months in prison in August.
The investigation was triggered by the deaths of two teens, Christian Bjerk, 18, of Grand Forks, and Elijah Stai, 17, East Grand Forks, in June 2012. Stai was initially from Park Rapids.
In the press release, Purdon called the award “well-deserved” for the operation, which “dismantled the organization that was trafficking this poison, and delivered some measure of Justice to the families of the young men who lost their lives.”
