[KHTS] Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station J-Team, or Juvenile Intervention Team, deputies netted three drug arrests Friday night in Saugus for the first of several planned operations to crack down on narcotics in the Santa Clarita Valley nightlife scene, officials announced Monday.

Sheriff’s Station officials arrested Nicholas Cooney, 27, of Saugus; Jason Wood, 28, of Newhall; and Nikita Monkhouse, 26, of Canyon Country, were arrested on the 22900 block of Soledad Canyon Road, after a multi-team operation aimed at illegal drugs.

“This operation, which was organized by our J-Team, was the result of a coordinated effort from several different special teams within the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station,” said Deputy Josh Dubin of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station. “This operation is part of an ongoing effort aimed specifically at combating the use of illegal narcotics in the Santa Clarita Valley.”

The J-Team usually focuses on juvenile and young adult-related crimes, as well as drug-related offenses.

The operation involved undercover and uniformed deputies who have been investigating the area behind Mabel’s Roadhouse to the other end of the Saugus strip mall, where there’s a Schooners Patio Grille.

Businesses in the area have been cooperative and supportive of this type of law enforcement, Sheriff’s Station officials said.

Cooney is accused of trying to sell powder cocaine, and Wood and Monkhouse are accused of trying to purchase the drug in the parking lot areas.

Cooney was arrested in Saugus near the bars around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, officials said. The other two suspects were arrested around the same time.

All three were held in lieu of $30,000 bail.

The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station’s J-Team has garnered awards for it’s community-based policing.

The J-Team accomplishes its goals with an innovative three part-approach that includes: enforcement, diversion and education.