Governor Kay Ivey recently awarded $1.6 million dollars for a statewide effort to continue battling illegal drugs and drug-related crime in Alabama.
Ivey awarded grants of $200,000 each to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the state’s seven regional drug task forces, which are made up of personnel from law enforcement agencies in each region. ALEA heads up the overall task force.
“Illegal drugs are menaces that destroy lives, ruin families and lead to rampant crime,” said Ivey. “I commend these law enforcement officers for working to get this scourge off our streets and make our communities and neighborhoods safer.”
Created in 2018, each task force includes eight to 12 counties. Despite being regionalized, the task forces often work together to stop the sale and transportation of drugs and to arrest large suppliers of drugs.
In 2022, the Alabama Drug Enforcement Task Force worked with federal and state law enforcement officers and other partners to make 653 drug related arrests involving 1,121 drug-related cases. The task force seized nearly 715,000 grams of marijuana, 183,994 grams of methamphetamine, 46,000 grams of cocaine/crack and 38,734 grams of heroin. The task force seized more than $946,954 in currency related to drug crimes.
The grant funds will be used to cover overtime and operational and equipment expenses. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grants using funds from the U.S. Department of Justice.