After the Ohio State Highway Patrol saw about a 30 percent increase in drug violations throughout the state so far this year, Ohio legislators are considering taking further measures to prevent drug trafficking in the state.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol has made about 1,700 drug arrests statewide in 2012, up 27 percent from about 1,300 arrests this time last year, according to data from the patrol’s website.
Athens County, however, has seen an about 27 percent decrease in drug violations thus far in 2012, from 29 to 21 violations.
Lt. George Harlow, post commander of the Athens Highway Patrol, said the patrol has made significant progress in combating drug trafficking this year.
While Central Ohio leads with the highest number of drug arrests in the state, District 9, which encompasses portions of Southeast Ohio, comes in second, said Lt. Anne Ralston, a spokeswoman for the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The district includes 10 counties, stretching from Ross to Athens.
“In areas like Detroit, Cleveland or Columbus, there is a great supply (of drugs),” Criminal Patrol Supervisor Sgt. John Silvey said. “There wasn’t as great of supply in (Southern Ohio), but the demand is there. We see a lot of people bringing drugs into this area to meet that demand.”
Troopers are focused on monitoring U.S. Route 33, one of the main avenues for drug trafficking in the state, Silvey said.
“Route 33 is the hotspot right now,” he said. “It’s a direct route from the Central Ohio area down into (the southern) area of the state.”
With Route 33 as an enabler for transportation, Southern Ohio has become a “hot bed” for drug activity, Ralston said. Because the highway runs across the state, drugs can be transported through Ohio and into remote communities, she said.
“Drugs are not only moving through interstate systems but are also being broken down and distributed throughout communities,” Ralston said. “Drugs are then here to stay.”
Although the main objective of the highway patrol has been to reduce traffic fatalities, Ralston said catching criminal activity now holds equal importance.
“While (the officers) are doing our core mission, they are also looking for crimes,” she said. “Criminals have vehicles, and we really encourage our people to have the same level of control regarding criminal interdiction as they do traffic fatalities.”
Last year, the highway patrol saw a 9 percent increase in drug arrests, she said, including a 69 percent increase and a 62 percent increase in the amounts of heroin and hydrocodone seized, respectively.
“People involved in drug trafficking try to out-wit us, and we try to out-wit them,” Ralston said. “It’s about keeping up on what the trends are, having a keen eye, looking at the totality of the circumstances, and being really good at your job.”
Troopers might gain another tool to help prosecute drug trade offenders if a recently proposed state law is passed. The law, advocated by Gov. John Kasich, would prohibit hidden compartments inside vehicles.
Under the law, constructing hidden compartments inside a vehicle and knowingly operating a vehicle with hidden compartments, with or without drugs inside, would be a fourth-degree felony.
The law would benefit combating drug trafficking because hidden compartments are a main facilitator of the drug trade, Ralston said.
“We know that (a vehicle) with a hidden compartment is on its way to pick up drugs or it’s already dropped them off,” she said.
Offenders go to great lengths to build the compartments, Harlow said. Last week, he said troopers seized 8 kilos of heroin from an electronically controlled compartment constructed inside the bumper of a car.
“A lot of these compartments are so well-made that you can’t even detect them,” Harlow said. “That’s how good these people are at building them.”
Although both Ralston and Harlow said the law would help reduce drug trafficking in the state, for now, their main concern is keeping the roadways safe.
“When we make traffic stops, whether we’re giving them a warning or removing drugs from the highway, we’re making Ohio safer not only on roadways but in communities,” Ralston said. “Every single time we do one of those things, we’re making Ohio a better place to live and travel in.”
Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly could not be reached for comment.
kg278810@ohiou.edu
