DRUG MONEY TO HELP FUND VIOLENT CRIME TASK FORCE

HUNTINGTON -- Money taken from the assets seized from the owner of a crack
house in Huntington was presented to the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug
Task Force Friday.

United States Attorney Kasey Warner presented a $36,000 check taken from the
assets of William T. Craft who was prosecuted recently for operating a crack
house in Huntington. Investigators first began investigating the operation
in 2002.

Law enforcement officials credit the asset forfeiture program for reducing
the supplies of drugs on the street. With the program, someone convicted of
dealing drugs must forfeit all possessions bought with the drug money to the
task force, which uses the money for day-to-day operations. This often
serves as a greater deterrent to selling drugs than jail does, Warner said.

"They shouldn't profit from their crimes," Warner said.

The task force, a collaborative effort of local and state law enforcement
and the FBI, has greatly reduced the amount of drugs on the streets, causing
the price to go up and further deter drug use, Warner said.

"It is common sense. If the price goes high, fewer people will buy drugs,"
Warner said.

The price of illegal drugs in the Tri-State is significantly higher in
Huntington than in metropolitan areas, said Cabell County Sheriff's Chief
Deputy Jim Scheidler. This is due in part to the efforts of law enforcement
and the fact that most illegal drugs circulating in the Tri-state are
shipped from the Columbus or Detroit areas rather than made locally, he
said.

"They are bringing them in. We are a depot," Scheidler said.

Scheidler estimated about 80 to 90 percent of all crime in the area is
related to drugs.