Doc's Thrift Store was set up by law enforcement officials in a Rolette County sting that led to the arrests of at least 30 people accused of selling marijuana, meth, prescription painkillers and illegal guns to an undercover worker in the shop's back room, authorities say.

Former Rolette County Sheriff Tony Sims, who helped organize the yearlong sting operation, said "several hundred" - mostly drug-related - cases are pending.

"This thing is far from being over," Sims said. "Our system can't handle several hundred drug cases in a hurry."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Schneider said cases are moving through the courts as a result of the undercover operation at Doc's Thrift Store in Dunseith, which ended last fall. It involved the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Rolette County Sheriff's Department.

Sims said the second-hand store was a prop funded by the government to crack down on illegal guns and drugs in the county, and in Dunseith, a town of some 740 people, about 20 miles from the Canadian border and near the Turtle Mountain reservation.

Law enforcement agents rented an abandoned mercantile store and hired an ex-con who goes by the name of "Doc" to run the operation, Sims said. The man has worked in several states running sting operations for the government, and recently finished a similar sting in Minnesota, the former sheriff said.

"He's good," Sims said. "You can't catch criminals using a priest."

The illegal transactions were recorded on video, Schneider said.

The operation cost at least $100,000 and was funded by state and federal law enforcement agencies using confiscated drug money, Sims said.

"It was a roaring success," Sims said. "We got pounds of marijuana and meth and prescription drugs. It definitely didn't stop everything, but it will get a couple of guys removed from the area that need a vacation."

Schneider said about 25 illegal guns were taken off the streets.

The bulk of the arrests are drug-related and are being prosecuted in state court "in blocks of 10," he said. He did not know the status of the cases, or the exact number.

Rolette County Sheriff Richard Turcotte would not comment on the sting operation. Rolette County State's Attorney Mary O'Donnell did not return repeated telephone calls seeking comment.

Federal authorities have jurisdiction on the illegal weapons charges.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland sentenced two Dunseith men who were caught in the sting.

Mitchell Nielsen, 21, had pleaded guilty in March to possession and sale of a stolen firearm in December 2005. Hovland sentenced Nielsen to six months at a halfway house and three years of probation. He also was ordered to pay $380 in fines and restitution.

Alfred D. Davis, 69, pleaded guilty in March to illegally possessing a sawed-off shotgun, and distributing oxycodone, a controlled substance. Davis was sentenced to a year of home confinement, two years of probation, and was ordered to pay $980 in fines and restitution.

Another man, Danny Belgarde, who's from the Dunseith area, pleaded guilty in May to selling guns without a federal firearms license, Schneider said. He is to be sentenced Aug. 22.

Schneider said the three men sold guns to the undercover worker, who identified himself as having a criminal record.

"He told them, 'I can't buy or possess guns,'" Schneider said. The men sold the firearms to him anyway, he said.

"I think ATF has seen an illegal pattern of selling firearms to people who shouldn't have firearms," Schneider said.

Sims said the store used as a front for the sting was filled mostly "with junk you'd find at a yard sale." The legitimate business set up by the government did surprisingly well, he said.

"The stuff that got people in trouble was in the back room," Sims said.

Only a handful of law enforcement officials in the county knew about the sting operation during its run, Sims said. But word spread quickly in the county about "Doc" and his proclivity for buying illegal drugs and guns, he said.

"He started making contacts on the first day, before he even got his truck unloaded," Sims said.

The thrift shop has now closed down and "Doc" has left town for good, Schneider said.

"I don't think you'd stick around either," Schneider said. "It could be unhealthy."