Pubdate: Wed, 22 May 2002
Source: Starkville Daily News (MS)
Copyright: Starkville Daily News 2002
Contact:  http://www.starkvilledailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1760

DRUG CRACKDOWN'S SUCCESS IS EVIDENT

We have been pretty vocal in our support for an ongoing crackdown on 
illegal narcotics trafficking by local law enforcement agencies over 
the last few months.

The effort is a joint operation by the Oktibbeha County Sheriff's 
Department, the Starkville Police Department, the Tri-County 
Narcotics Task Force, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the 
Mississippi Department of Corrections and the Mississippi Highway 
Patrol.

As of May 11, the crackdown has seen a good bit of success, with some 
160 drug offenders arrested, many of whom are known by authorities to 
be significant drug dealers and remain in custody.

Several news stories in our newspaper have documented the efforts of 
our drug agents, sheriff's deputies, state troopers, corrections 
officials and police officers in this crackdown.

Anyone who doubts their efforts are making an impact should think 
twice. The numbers of arrests - an average of 13 drug offenders per 
week since our last report - speak for themselves.

The impact on our neighborhoods and streets, we believe, is even 
greater. Tuesday's newspaper contained two prime examples.

Early Sunday morning, Tri-County agents, county sheriff's deputies 
and Starkville police officers, acting on information each agency had 
received, raided an apartment on Central Avenue and seized a good 
quantity of powdered cocaine and crack cocaine and a small amount of 
marijuana, arresting a man many said had been dealing drugs for 
several months.

The powdered cocaine, in particular, was bagged to be sold in one 
gram amounts, with between 50 and 60 rocks of crack cocaine also 
ready for sale.

What's even more disconcerting is that a woman approached the 
officers as the raid winded down and tried to buy crack cocaine. But 
she will not be able to get it in that neighborhood.

Another example is a news story about one Starkville police officer, 
Shawn Word, who made several drug arrests last week on various 
traffic stops throughout the city.

In each case, marijuana and drug paraphernalia were seized, some in 
significant amounts. While Word made a significant number of traffic 
stop drug arrests, officers and sheriff's deputies are seeing 
increasing numbers of these types of arrests on our city and county 
streets and roads.

That is another reason why this drug crackdown is important, 
especially considering that local law enforcement officials estimate 
that two-thirds to three-fourths of all crime that occurs locally is 
related to drugs in some form or fashion.

We encourage residents to report suspected drug activity to 
authorities. Our law enforcement officers are determined to stem the 
flow of illegal drugs in our community.

With help and cooperation from all of us, that can happen, and our 
community will be all the better for it.
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