BROOKLYN — The police operation that was named "Operation Lovejoy" led to a dozen arrests and charges for illegal drug possession and sales and prostitution Friday against some Brooklyn residents and strip club owners.

And numerous citations were issued by the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department for building and environmental code violations. Some of the charges included maintaining a public nuisance, promoting prostitution, prostitution, and money laundering.

St. Clair County State's Attorney Brendan Kelly said there were dozens of liquor, fire and health code violations at the Pink Slip and Bottoms Up strip clubs.

"Agents are still compiling health code violations that were found at Bottoms Up, which include containers of human waste, used condoms, and food safety," he said.

He also said one arrest was made at Roxys for possession of cocaine.

Also, a search warrant was executed at S and L Rub, which is located at the corner of Jefferson and Third street in Brooklyn.

Kelly said he believes the action taken Friday will "lead to further legal actions including criminal and civil actions for nuisance abatement, and asset forfeiture proceedings."

Joe Beliveau, director of the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southern Illinois said, "targeting street level drug dealers and removing them from the streets helps reduce violence and make the community safer for the residents."

U.S. Attorney Stephen Wigginton said "Operation Lovejoy is another example of our close working relationship with local, state and federal law enforcement partners."

Wigginton said the law enforcement partners "have been working on this for sometime."

"It was a multi-agency task force that focussed not just on violence but also on quality of life issues. That's why we included multiple agencies such as the health department and the liquor commissioner," said Wigginton.

Wigginton promised that the strong efforts of law enforcement will continue.

"We will continue to evaluate the arrests made and work closelu with the State's Attorney's office to determinw whether the individuals should be prosecuted in state or federal court," Wigginton said.

Arrested in the special detail and charged were:

* Laura C. Hedgeman, 28, of Brooklyn, charged with armed violence, unlawful possession with intent to deliver marijuana and unlawful possession of marijuana. Her bond was set at $200,000.

* Earl M. Smith, 31, of Brooklyn, charged with armed violence, unlawful possession with the intent to deliver marijuana, and unlawful possession of marijuana. His bond was set at $300,000.

* Willie C. Brown, Jr., 31, of Brooklyn, charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of public housing, and unlawful delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a place of worship. Brown's bond was set at $150,000.

* Andre B. Murray, 26, of Lovejoy, charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of public housing, and two counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance. Murray's bond was set at $200,000.

* Devin Warren, 18, of Brooklyn, charged with unlawful distribution of a look-alike substance. His bond was set at $25,000.

* Joshua C. Thompson, 28, of Brooklyn, charged with unlawful possession with intent to deliver marijuana. Bond for him was set at $40,000.

* Nathan V. Young, Jr., 22, of Brooklyn, charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of public housing. His bond was set at $75,000.

* Demorie L. Pointer, 17, of Brooklyn, charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of public housing. Pointer's bond was set at $75,000.

* Quentin J. Patton, 30, of Brooklyn, charged with unlawful possession with intent to deliver marijuana. Bond was set at $40,000.

* Anthony W. Woodson, 35, charged with unlawful possession with intent to deliver marijuana, and unlawful possession of marijuana subsequent. His bond was set at $25,000.

* Amelia A. Boyd, 53, of Detroit, Mich., charged with prostitution.

* Lori R. Fowler, 28, of Madison, charged with prostitution. Both women's bond was set at $3,000.

More than 10 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies took part in the detail. Among them were agents with the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southern Illinois, the Illinois State Fire Marshal's office, the Illinois Department of Corrections, the Metro-East Health District, the U. S. Marshal's Service and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Illinois.

Brooklyn Police Chief Tony Tomlinson said he was grateful for the work done in Brooklyn by all of the agencies that partnered together.

"In addition to the support we received from all of the outside agencies, Brooklyn police were also able to get four semi-automatic handguns off of the streets and a fair amount of cocaine," Tomlinson said.