The undercover officers in the sting, who looked young enough to be students, dressed and talked in a way that would make them blend into any crowd around campus, authorities say. They started going to fraternity parties, made some connections and then started appearing at other events near campus. Mosler says the officers were stunned to learn how openly drug dealers were operating. "The undercover officers would call the dealers and say, 'I'm looking to score, can you hook me up?' " the prosecutor says, "and the dealers wouldn't question it; they'd just say yes." Mosler says he believes that the dealers, many of them students, were operating under the false assumption that they would never get caught within the insular world of a college campus.

Feds Penetrated Drug Culture Easily At San Diego State [AP] Inside the San Diego State University Drug Bust [Newsweek] Related: Eight Great Blunders Of The Greeks [College OTR]

"A sad commentary is that when one of these individuals was arrested, they inquired as to whether or not his arrest and incarceration would have an effect on his becoming a federal law enforcement officer," a DEA spokesman said. No shit. Apparently they had connections to a major cartel.

A student majoring in criminal justice was arrested for possession of 500 grams of cocaine and two guns, officials said.

As part of the investigation, officers infiltrated seven campus fraternities. In some fraternities, most of the members were aware of organized drug dealing occuring from the houses by members, officials said.

In one instance, a member of the Theta Chi fraternity sent out a mass text message to his "faithful customers" stating that he and his associates would be in Las Vegas for the weekend and cocaine sales could not be made.

The message said there was a "sale" on cocaine and listed reduced prices.

Yearlong Probe Results In 96 Arrests [San Diego Union-Tribune]