Pubdate: Sat, 01 Jul 2006
Source: Charleston Gazette (WV)
Copyright: 2006 Charleston Gazette
Contact:  http://www.wvgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/77
Note: Does not print out of town letters.
Author: The Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

TROOPERS GET $1 MILLION MORE TO FIGHT DRUGS

State troopers will hit the streets Saturday armed with an extra $1 
million to aid their ongoing efforts to stop illegal drug trafficking 
in West Virginia.

Gov. Joe Manchin said Friday that the additional funding will bolster 
efforts that have already seized more than $5.7 million worth of 
crack cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and other illegal drugs 
statewide in the past 18 months.

Speaking to reporters at State Police headquarters, Manchin stood 
behind a table where troopers laid out a half-dozen recently seized 
guns as well as bags of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana. The 
firearms included an AK-47 assault rifle, while the drugs had an 
estimated street value of more than $800,000.  - advertisement -

The governor said drug crime has reached "epidemic proportions" in 
the state and touches the lives of nearly every West Virginian.

"We must win this war. We have to," Manchin said. "Our economic 
success depends on it."

State Police Lt. D.L. Lemmon, who heads the department's narcotics 
unit, said troopers have increased undercover buys of illegal 
narcotics by 49 percent since January 2005.

The number of felony arrests also rose, he said. Between 2004 and 
2005 federal felony drug arrests climbed 70 percent, while state 
felony arrests jumped 144 percent.

"As the numbers indicate, the ongoing efforts by the West Virginia 
State Police and their partners on the federal, state and local level 
are producing significant results," the governor said.

But their work is not done, Manchin added.

The $1 million will help offset federal grant cuts of about 38 
percent this year over last year from the State Police budget. It 
will help cover salaries and benefits for 60 troopers who target 
illegal drug crimes plus equipment and training. Lawmakers earmarked 
the funding during this year's regular session, after Manchin 
requested it in his State of the State address.

Lt. Col. S.C. Tucker said that with the remaining federal and state 
funds, his agency has about $7 million this fiscal year to fight the 
drug trade in the state.

Cocaine and methamphetamine are most prevalent in the southern part 
of the state, while heroin is a problem in the Eastern and Northern 
pandhandles, Lemmon said. Marijuana and crack cocaine plague the 
entire state, he said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman