GEORGETOWN — City police, state troopers and Scott County sheriff's deputies arrested 27 people Tuesday on various drug-trafficking charges in and around Georgetown.

The undercover operation resulted in 83 indictments or warrants, Georgetown Police Chief Michael Bosse said during a news conference.

Tuesday's roundup concentrated on finding 41 of the people, Bosse said. So as not to overburden the local criminal justice system, the others will be sought over the coming weeks, Bosse said. A list of names was not immediately available.

"The system can handle only so many of the defendants at a time," Bosse said. "To our knowledge, this is the largest drug sweep in the history of the city of Georgetown."

The roundup began at 6 a.m. Tuesday to catch some suspects off-guard: "We wanted to catch people in bed," Bosse said.

The drugs being trafficked included methamphetamine, prescription drugs, powdered cocaine and heroin, he said.

"The numbers reflect the national trend," Bosse said.

The investigation involved the use of confidential informants and multiple undercover drug buys, he said.

The amounts of drugs sold "vary from the guy who sells one pill to the guy who sells 1 ounce," Bosse said.

Seven cars used in transporting drugs or in drug transactions were seized, Bosse said.

Most of the arrests occurred in Georgetown, but some suspects were arrested in Lexington and Grant County, Bosse said.

Twenty felony cases had been presented to a Scott County grand jury before Tuesday's roundup, Scott County Commonwealth's Attorney Gordie Shaw said. More will be presented later.

The roundup involved 30 Georgetown officers, eight deputies with the Scott County Sheriff's Office and five Kentucky State Police troopers.

Georgetown Mayor Everette Varney said the roundup demonstrated what police can do in a cooperative effort.

"I've heard many stories about outsiders coming in and doing business here in Georgetown," Varney said. "We simply want to send a message to them: You can come in and you can do business here, but rest assured: We'll be watching you, we're going to track you down and you're going to be prosecuted."

Greg Kocher: (859) 231-3305. Twitter: @HLpublicsafety.