It's the grand finale of a 60 day crime sweep on Austin's east side. Officers went undercover at 12th and Chicon busting the people who've made it into an open air drug market.

Undercover officers didn't have to wait long at an area they dub Austin's most infamous drug market before someone took the bait. Drug dealing goes on there 24 hours a day. Friday night the drug of choice was crack cocaine. As soon as a deal was made, officers jumped out a vehicle and made an arrest. People were then taken to a nearby school, photographed and prepped for a ride to jail.

KVUE rode with officers for an hour and watched as officers made four arrests. In the five hours of the sting officers nabbed 17 people.

"My thought on it is, it's about time,” said business owner Jason Carr.

Jason Carr's gym Power Shack is in the exact spot where officers carried out the sting. The dealers and users make it difficult to bring in customers, but Carr isn't going anywhere.

"When I first opened up I had people saying, ‘That's all right.  You'll shut down, we'll run you off too,’ but I'm still here. I haven't decreased my activities.  I've increased my activities,” he said.

APD Sgt. Robert Jones says what happens out here doesn't just affect this community, but the entire city.

"A majority of the people committing the drug dealing and also those that are purchasing the drugs don't live in the community. They come from outside to do their crimes,” Jones said.

Jones said when they're not on this corner, they're breaking into cars and homes elsewhere and robbing people to support their habits.

"We're going to continue to target our resources there and send a very strong message that people aren't going to victimize our community,” Jones said.

That was just one of 31 operations carried out in the past 60 days. Officers made 282 arrests during that time for everything from drugs to parking violations. Jones said officers catered to neighborhood complaints.