The office that appeared to be a fencing operation for buying stolen goods and drugs was really an 18-month-long police sting that drew 135 suspects, officials say. About $1.3 million in stolen goods was purchased for $70,000 during the undercover operation run by several law agencies, officials said. Goods netted included 130 vehicles; more than $20,000 worth of jewelry; power tools; a pickup truck full of sportswear; appliances; about 100 firearms _including sawed-off shotguns, assault rifles and a hand grenade _ and a human eye. In all, 135 suspects were sought on state and federal charges, Tommy Wittman, agent in charge of the Salt Lake office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said at a news conference where many of the confiscated items were displayed. West Valley City Police Department spokeswoman Marsha Campbell said today that at least 62 people had been served warrants since officers began issuing them early Wednesday. Half of the suspects were already in custody on other charges. The sting was run by the West Valley City and Salt Lake City police departments and the federal ATF bureau, with assistance from other agencies. It operated out of two phony businesses _ Industrial Motor Repair in South Salt Lake and Damaged Freight Haulers in West Valley. A stolen Christmas tree was fenced during the holiday season, and undercover officers buying morphine from a nursing student also bought a human eye that had been taken from the University of Utah Medical Center. The agents bought $16,445 in heroin, morphine, cocaine, methamphetamine, valium and marijuana and learned the locations of six methamphetamine laboratories in the area, Wittman said. Sgt. Charles Illsley of the Major Felony Unit said 95 percent of the suspects were trading in stolen goods to obtain money for drugs. ``Three had `priors' for homicide. ... The worst one had 11 felony convictions,'' he said. U.S. Attorney Dee Benson said the probe's 26 federal indictments all involved narcotics and firearms charges. The sting was the third in the county since 1985. In August 1986, a similar operation resulted in the arrest of 24 people and the recovery of more than $500,000 in stolen goods. The second sting ended in January 1988 with the arrests of 50 people and the recovery of more than $400,000. West Valley Assistant Police Chief Terry Keefe said undercover officers became friendly with many suspects, sometimes were introduced to their families and in one case helped them move in the middle of the night. A female officer portraying a receptionist got a marriage proposal from one suspect. Wittman said the suspects were not entrapped. ``Enticement yes, probably. But not entrapment,'' Wittman said. ``These people had already stolen the property when they came to us. We did not provide shopping lists.''
