White House Drug Policy Office names Mineral County as one of seven areas to receive federal support for combating drug trafficking

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — United States Attorney Bill Powell is proud to announce that Mineral County is now designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, providing much-needed funding and support to the county for the fight against drug trafficking.

“Mineral County is just one of the counties in our district that is seeing increased drug trafficking and its effects on its residents. This HIDTA designation will provide law enforcement more funding and resources so we can more effectively and efficiently address drug trafficking in Mineral County through our task force operations,” said Powell.

Mineral County is the ninth county in the Northern District of West Virginia to receive the HIDTA designation. Brooke, Hancock, Harrison, Marshall, Monongalia, and Ohio Counties are HIDTA-designated counties within Appalachia HIDTA. Berkeley and Jefferson Counties are HIDTA-designated counties within the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA.

James Carroll, Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, announced the designation of 10 new areas across Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs) this week. 

This designation enables the 10 areas to receive Federal resources to further the coordination and development of drug control efforts among Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers, and allows local agencies to benefit from ongoing HIDTA initiatives that are working to reduce drug trafficking across the United States.
 
The newly-designated areas are:
 
•    Allegheny, Beaver, and Washington Counties in Pennsylvania as part of the Ohio HIDTA
•    Atlantic County in New Jersey as part of the Liberty Mid-Atlantic HIDTA
•    Butler County in Ohio as part of the Ohio HIDTA
•    Charleston County in South Carolina and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina as part of the Atlanta/Carolinas HIDTA
•    Mineral County in West Virginia as part of the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA
•    Montgomery and Powell Counties in Kentucky as part of the Appalachia HIDTA
 
“Drug traffickers are fueling the opioid crisis and poisoning our communities, so we have to be relentless in bringing them to justice,” Carroll said. “This new funding will allow law enforcement to disrupt trafficking operations in key areas so we can save lives, strengthen our communities, and safeguard our country.”
 
The HIDTA program was created in 1988 and serves as a catalyst for coordination among Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug trafficking regions. Law enforcement organizations working within HIDTAs assess drug-trafficking problems and design specific initiatives to decrease the production, transportation, and distribution of drugs. There are 29 HIDTAs located in 50 states, as well as in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.
 
For more information on the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, go to WhiteHouse.gov/ONDCP.