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."