BETHEL — A high-profile police operation that involved officers outfitted in tactical gear and gas masks deploying rocket-launched tear gas canisters and stun grenades has won praise from town officials and residents, who have complained about a rise in drug-related crime in the area.

Vermont State Police said “special teams” involving an array of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and even the Vermont National Guard arrived at 6:15 a.m. on Monday to execute “a search warrant” at 2136 Christian Hill Road in Bethel.

The search warrant had been executed as “part of an investigation into a stolen car complaint in Windsor County,” according to the statement from police.

“Bethel will not stand by and tolerate crime and drugs in our community,” the Bethel Selectboard said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “We will fight these issues head on, until we see the town returned to the family-friendly, safe community we all know and love.”

Spokesman Adam Silverman told the Valley News that Vermont State Police was the lead agency on the operation, which was “a VSP case developed as a result of investigatory work.” He declined to elaborate further, saying it remains “active and ongoing.”

Police provided no details about the stolen vehicle complaint but Silverman said police had information that the “key” to the vehicle in question could be found at the property and that the “key and the vehicle had become separated at some point.”

The raid resulted in 11 arrests and the seizure of an undisclosed amount of cocaine, according to a statement from police. Several occupants had outstanding arrest warrants

“Numerous people were inside the home at the time,” the news release said. “All but two left the residence when instructed. VSP’s Tactical Services Unit deployed gas, flash-bang devices and a robot into the home to apprehend the other two individuals without further incident.”

An ambulance crew was on “standby,” police said, but no injuries were reported.

A subsequent court-authorized search of the home turned up the cocaine.

This is the second time this year authorities have conducted a raid of a home in town that resulted in multiple arrests. In January, police carried out a similar operation at a property in East Bethel where narcotics, guns and a grenade launcher were seized.

Gardner Moses, 57, was among the nine people inside the house on Monday morning who quickly surrendered.

In an interview at the Windsor County Courthouse in Woodstock before his arraignment on Tuesday afternoon, Moses described how a large police contingent arrived early in the morning and announced that they had a search warrant for the premises.

Moses said two people — his nephew Jesse Durkee and Annette Ruotolo — did not want to come out of the house “because of their arrest warrants.”

Durkee, 40, has been charged with multiple instances of breaking into neighbors’ homes and has been wanted on an arrest warrant since last year after he skipped a court date. Durkee is being held at Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, Vt.

Ruotolo, 39, was wanted in New Hampshire for felony weapon and drug probation violations in Grafton County, according to police. A warrant had been issued for Ruotolo’s arrest after she failed to appear for an arraignment hearing on those probation violations in Grafton County court last November, court records show.

She currently also has pending misdemeanor charges for methamphetamine possession, providing false information to police and retail theft in Vermont, according to court records. No upcoming court hearing is currently scheduled in that case.

Also jailed following Monday’s raid was India Tweedie, 34, who was arrested and charged with violating her conditions of release. In January, Tweedie was charged with drug trafficking and other offenses after she was among eight people arrested during a raid on Gage Road in East Bethel.

Moses, who also was among those arrested in January, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday at his arraignment in connection with Monday’s arrest and was released on conditions.

Six of the 11 people arrested on Monday were charged with possession of cocaine, according to state police. None of the charges were publicly available in court records as of Wednesday morning, so the amounts of possession are unknown. In Vermont, possession of under 2.5 grams of cocaine is a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000.

The Christian Hill Road house near Interstate 89 that police raided on Monday is owned by 41-year-old Thomas Brooks, Moses said. Brooks was among those arrested.

“They got no place else to live. They are homeless, most of them,” Moses said of the home’s occupants who were arrested on Monday. “Tom’s a nice guy.”

Brook’s property is currently subject to a foreclosure action filed in Windsor County Superior Court in February over an unpaid mortgage, according to court filings.

Moses said that he and the others who voluntarily exited the house were handcuffed and moved up the driveway to the road where they sat on the guardrail while police turned their attention to Durkee and Ruotolo.

Although he could not observe police from the road, Moses said that Durkee told him while they shared a jail cell overnight that police flew a drone into the kitchen and another upstairs.

Police also launched “flash grenades” and “tear gas” into the house, “smashed windows” and “tore sheet rock” from the interior walls, Moses said Durkee told him.

“The front door was wide open,” Moses said. “They could have just walked in.”

According to Silver, police need to take precautions — both for themselves and the occupants inside — when forcefully entering an occupied house, regardless of whether the entrance is open because they have no way to know the situation inside.

“Vermont State Police in all situations, including this and others, takes the necessary steps and necessary precautions to ensure the safety of all parties involved — including potential suspects and law enforcement officers — who face potentially dangerous situations,” Silverman said Tuesday. “One of the most dangerous things to do in any kind of law enforcement scenario is to clear a house.”

In their Facebook post, the Bethel Selectboard members gave “a huge thank you” to State Police, Windsor County Sheriff’s Department and the other police agencies that banded together on Monday’s raid.

Among the agencies involved were the State Police’s Tactical Services Unit, Bomb Squad and Crisis Negotiation teams along with the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Marshals Service and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The Vermont National Guard provided “technical assistance and equipment in the search of the residence,” Silverman said. He referred further questions about its involvement to the Guard.

“We want the departments to know we appreciate all the hard work they have put in to making these operations successful and our community safer,” the Bethel Selectboard said in the Facebook post, noting that “we will be focusing on speeding, crime and drugs for the foreseeable future, by partnering with the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department and the Vermont State Police.”

Contact John Lippman at jlippman@vnews.com.