VISTA, Calif. -  

Some of those arrested in Tuesday's Fallbrook drug bust could have ties to a larger drug trafficking organization, prosecutors said Wednesday.

During a court hearing in Vista on Wednesday, ten defendants pleaded not guilty to charges resulting from "Operation Cruel Summer." The nine men and one woman were among the 37 who were arrested Tuesday. Their arrests were the culmination of a six-month investigation by several local and federal agencies.

Authorities also seized marijuana, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine while executing arrests warrants in Fallbrook on Tuesday. They also found 38 guns and about $166,000 in cash.

On Wednesday, prosecutors for the District Attorney’s Office fought for the highest possible bail.

"Not only do they have drugs, they have guns," said deputy district attorney Terri Perez. "It is a danger to the community. It presents a danger to society at large to have drug dealers out in public conducting their transactions."

Perez also claimed their ties to the drug world go deeper than that of low-level drug dealers.

"As part of this investigation, (authorities) were focused on the Sims drug trafficking organization," she said. "We believe that all of these defendants were involved in drug sales are part of that organization."

Twenty people who were arrested during "Operation Cruel Summer" are being charged at the state level. Seventeen others are facing federal charges.