Steve Opat, Geary County Attorney and Tony Cruz, Assistant Geary County Attorney have been honored with a Westar Energy Public Safety Heroes Award.

It is for their role in prosecuting and working on the ADABAG cases. There were 112 people in primarily Geary and Riley County arrested in the ADABAG drug raids in 2013.

“It was a more than year long investigation into drug trafficking that extended from Geary and Riley County into Shawnee and Johnson Counties,” Opat said. “I think we’ve had spectacular results in terms of convicting people and getting drugs off the streets and probably, according to Chief Brown, reducing the crime rate quite substantially.”

Opat went on to say that Cruz and himself were just doing their jobs.

“You know Tony Cruz and I don’t consider ourselves to be heroes by any stretch of the imagination for doing the kinds of things that we’re expected to do, and which we ourselves to do everyday.”

Opat did say that it is nice to be recognized and it is a little bit embarrassing but it’s a real honor to work with the KBI people that they did and called them “top drawer.”

KBI Agents Chris Turner and Glen Virden were also honored with public safety awards.

The awards were presented in Topeka during an event hosted by the Kansas Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross.