Pubdate: Wed, 29 Aug 2007
Source: Sioux City Journal (IA)
Copyright: 2007 Sioux City Journal
Contact:  http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/945

HIGHWAY 281 GETS SCRUTINY IN DRUG WAR

HURON, S.D. (AP) -- The well-traveled interstate highways in South 
Dakota aren't the only roads getting attention as drug transportation routes.

Beadle and Brown counties are among 74 counties in the government's 
High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas in the Midwest because of U.S. 
Highway 281.

"It's not a major artery; it gets them off the interstate and I think 
that's why it was identified as a route because it does get the 
traffic, and it's a great alternate north-south route rather than 
using Interstate 29," said Beadle County State's Attorney Mike Moore.

In May, the Department of Justice issued strategic overview of the 
illicit drug situation in the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, 
or HIDTA, in six Midwest states.

HIDTA regions were established in the early 1990s to identify areas 
where it is believed illegal drugs are being transported in high quantities.

The Midwest HIDTA counties are in the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa 
and Missouri and are connected an extensive transportation 
infrastructure. Most major interstate highways in the northern United 
States pass through an intersect in the six-state region.

Law enforcement agencies working the high-trafficking routes receive 
federal funding for added patrols and officers trained on what to 
look for in their drug interdiction efforts, Moore said.

Drug dogs are based in Brown and Davison counties, and Beadle County 
has a drug agent working for the state Division of Criminal Investigation.

The Justice Department assessment said drug traffickers use South 
Dakota as an indirect route to other markets.

The Highway Patrol has reported numerous drug seizures on Interstate 
90, particularly in the western part of the state.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart