Tag: HIDTA

Randolph County Joins Regional Effort To Curb Drug Trafficking, Overdose

Randolph is the 24th West Virginia county to be designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

Randolph County has been added to a regional effort to fight drug trafficking.

Randolph is the 24th West Virginia county to be designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

The designation brings the county into a partnership of federal, state and local officials to curb drug trafficking, drug overdoses and drug use.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, federal drug czar Dr. Rahul Gupta and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia William Ihlenfeld announced the designation in Elkins on Wednesday.

Ihlenfeld is chairman of the board of the Baltimore-Washington High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and was previously chairman of the Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

Gupta was West Virginia’s Chief Health Officer before joining the White House as the first doctor to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Ihlenfeld To Chair Washington-Baltimore Drug Trafficking Board

In 2022, the units disrupted the sale of more than $100 million of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine.

U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld has been appointed chair of the Washington-Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) executive board.

That board supports 43 drug task forces in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. In addition to drug seizures, they also bolster treatment and prevention efforts.

In 2022, the units disrupted the sale of more than $100 million of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Ihlenfeld, the U.S. attorney for the northern district of West Virginia, said he’d work to strengthen the response to the threat of Mexican drug cartels.

Ihlenfeld previously served as chair of the Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. That includes parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Appalachia Receives Annual $10 Million Allocation To Stop Drug Trafficking

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy announced $9.9 million in funding for the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy announced $9,996,950 in funding for the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program.

The HIDTA program supports federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the U.S. There are currently 33 HIDTAs and HIDTA-designated counties located in 50 states, as well as in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.

“Our funding provides for drug initiatives in the four states [included in the Appalachia HIDTA],” Chad Napier, West Virginia’s HIDTA coordinator, said. “And so the $10 million is split out amongst those initiatives. They mainly fund overtime for narcotics investigators, full-time narcotics investigators that are co-located within initiatives.”

The Appalachia HIDTA is made up of 51 initiatives throughout four states: Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee. There are 15 initiatives in West Virginia.

“West Virginia leads the nation and the drug overdose death rate,” Napier said. “And so obviously, we’re always trying to allocate for more funding, just address those issues.”

The funds will support programs across the country to hold drug traffickers accountable, seize illicit drugs like fentanyl, and prevent and reduce gun violence and other violent crimes associated with drug trafficking.

Wood County Joins List of High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas

Another West Virginia county has been designated as an area with high drug trafficking.

Wood County, West Virginia and fifteen other counties nationwide are being added to the list of High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas.

In May, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin and Congressman David McKinley wrote a letter to National Drug Control Policy Acting Director Richard Baum, asking for Wood County to the receive the federal designation.

According to a news release, the designation will enable Wood County to receive federal resources to coordinate and develop drug control efforts among federal, state and local law enforcement officials. It also will allow local agencies to benefit from ongoing initiatives working to reduce drug use and its consequences across the country.

“I’m glad Director Baum has answered our calls to declare Wood County a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area,” said Manchin in the release. “The opioid epidemic is impacting every way of life in our state and it is crucial our law enforcement officials and drug task forces are well equipped to combat the influx of drugs coming into our state.”

“We need all the help available to fight drug epidemic ravaging our communities,” McKinley noted in the joint release with Senator Manchin. “The HIDTA program gives law enforcement additional resources to take drug traffickers off our streets.”

Wood County is the 21st county in West Virginia to be designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. Berkeley, Boone, Brooke, Cabell, Hancock, Harrison, Jefferson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Marshall, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monongalia, Ohio, Putnam, Raleigh, Wayne and Wyoming counties have also received the federal designation.

New Police Communication Policy Aims to Tackle Drug Problems

Huntington city council members want to open new lines of communication for police in an attempt to tackle the city’s drug problem.

WCHS-TV reports council members are working on bringing the Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and the Huntington police force into the same communication channels. The Appalachian High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area currently helps connect federal groups such as the FBI with local and state police.

Councilman David Ball is sponsoring an ordinance he says would allow officials to share more information throughout the country and will also help them keep track of high-profile dealers that come to Huntington from different states.

Huntington’s drug policy council director Jim Johnson says involving the federal government is beneficial because local governments don’t have the resources that federal agencies do.

Five New Appalachian Counties Designated as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas

Five Appalachian counties were designated as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas today, including Jefferson County, West Virginia. The designation allows the counties to receive federal resources to improve drug control and reduce illicit use.

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs) are defined as areas determined to be critical drug trafficking regions in the U.S., according to a news release from the Office of National Drug Control Policy. There are 28 HIDTAs across the country, and each includes several counties.

In the press release, National Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli said the designation of the new counties will “enhance the ability of federal, state, and local authorities to coordinate drug enforcement operations and improve public health and safety.”

The law enforcement organizations working within HIDTAs assess drug-trafficking issues and design specific initiatives to decrease the production, transportation, distribution, and chronic use of drugs and money laundering.

The other Appalachian counties added to the HIDTA designation include:

  • Blount County, Tennessee
  • Carroll County, Virginia
  • Grayson County, Virginia
  • Broome County, New York
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