After three months, Alabama drug enforcement task force nets nearly 100 arrests
Three months into its directive to tackle drug trafficking organizations and the violent crime associated with them, members of the Alabama Drug Enforcement Task Force were honored at the state capital in Montgomery in January for their work far.
The task force, which is made up of 47 member agencies and 75 Task Force Officers, has opened 172 investigations leading to 275 criminal charges and 99 arrests, the Chambers County Sheriff's Office said in a press release.
The sheriff's office said the task force has seized as much as $2.1 million worth of illegal narcotics, including heroin, cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine and opioid drugs, as well as nearly 100 firearms.
“It’s not just drugs. You’ll take murderers off the streets. You’ll take guns off the street. What this task force will do will be so good for the state," Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary of Law Enforcement Hal Taylor said in the release.
Governor Kay Ivey awarded $1.3 million in grants to establish the task force in November. Each of the seven regional offices of the task force received about $193,000.
“The illegal manufacturing, trafficking and sale of narcotics in Alabama is a problem for every part of the state and should be dealt with accordingly,” Ivey said at the time.
“Through combined efforts and statewide cooperation, this new task force will allow local police, sheriff’s offices and district attorneys to work together with state police and investigators to remove more of this dangerous element from our communities.”
The grants funded overtime for office, pay, training, equipment, and operational expenses, Ivey said.
“I commend those law enforcement officers who have agreed to become a part of the Alabama Drug Enforcement Task Force and the commitment and sacrifices they make in carrying out their duties," said Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs director Kenneth Boswell in a release
"ADECA is proud to be a part of this process that will take drugs out of our communities and make our streets safer."
This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 2:20 PM with the headline "After three months, Alabama drug enforcement task force nets nearly 100 arrests."