Pubdate: Mon, 24 Mar 2008 Source: Record-Courier (OH) Copyright: 2008 Record Publishing Company Contact: http://www.recordpub.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/809 Author: Marci Piltz PORTAGE DRUG TASK FORCE IS GOING STRONG 307 Arrests Made Since Restructuring 18 Months Ago; 39 Arrests This Year Nearly 18 months ago, the Portage County Drug Task Force was restructured under the guidance of the Portage County Sheriff's Office after financial constraints led to many departments withdrawing from the group. Since then, the task force has made 307 arrests, 39 so far this year, said Portage County Sheriff Duane Kaley. Consisting of members from seven departments within the community "the sheriff's office, the Portage County Prosecutor's Office, and the Aurora, Garrettsville, Kent, Ravenna and Streetsboro police departments " the task force is continuing its mission of driving drugs out of Portage County, Kaley said. "We work very closely with other local, state and federal law enforcement authorities to apprehend and prosecute individuals who are involved with illegal drugs," Kaley said. "It's a cooperative effort, because drugs don't discriminate, and they're transit "people run back and forth with them from out of the area, or take them out of here to somewhere else." Kaley said the task force has been fortunate that some of the area's finest officers have been assigned to a job he describes as both risky and time-consuming. "Not only are you dealing with some pretty questionable individuals, but they are also very unreliable," Kaley said. "The agents work long, strange hours. It's a whole different culture. It's not like sitting down with business people or people with a good work ethic. Sometimes you might be told they'll have something to sell to you, but might take four attempts before they really show up and have it." Before agents charge suspects, Kaley said an average of three drug purchases are made. Hundreds of hours in surveillance are put into the cases, he said. And sometimes, in the end, nothing pans out for the agent. "It's extremely hard work for the agents," he said. "Some cases might take a month, others can take up to a year or more. There is satisfaction in it, though. When the cases finally come together and go to court, you feel like you've accomplished something." Although marijuana, powder cocaine and crack cocainemake up the bulk of the task force's cases, Kaley said methamphetamine and prescription drug abuse are problems.Manufactured from chemicals that can be extremely volatile, methamphetamine requires special training and gear to clean up. "Meth users also can go for days without sleep, and very seldom do they cooperate with us. Usually they try to run," Kaley said. "Also, like most users of other drugs, they'll do anything to get money to get their next fix. Most of the burglaries we see are somehow related to drugs." Kaley also said the prescription Oxycontin remains a problem, and said it seems the highly potent and highly addictive painkiller is becoming easier for people to get. "Then, we'll find a local merchant or retailer has been ripped off, maybe TVs or DVD players, and the thiefs will take that merchandise and trade it for pills," Kaley said. "The store is getting ripped off, the guy who stole it is getting ripped off because he's not getting the full value of what he stole, and we as consumers are getting ripped off because those losses are figured into the cost of items." - --- MAP posted-by: Derek