CANINES CRACKING DOWN ON DRUG ACTIVITIES

Forty Individuals Charged With Drug Offenses Oct. 27 & 28

FAIRFIELD COUNTY - The Fairfield-Hocking Major Crimes Unit is cracking
down on drug activity in Fairfield and Hocking County with the help of
canine deputies Rico, Arno and Condor, as well as other members of law
enforcement and the community.

During Halloween weekend, Oct. 27 and 28, the Fairfield County
Sheriff's Office canine unit and the Hocking County Sheriff's Office
canine unit charged 40 individuals with drug related offenses. Most of
these individuals were heading to the festivities at Ohio University
in Athens, Ohio for the annual Halloween party. Some of the
confiscated items include marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, a loaded
firearm, pipes and other drug paraphernalia.

Yet, even though the major crimes unit is trying to eliminate
individual drug possession, the unit's major goal is to stop drugs at
the source: drug dealers.

"We are going to do everything in our power to keep drug dealers out
of our schools, neighborhoods and communities," said Dave Phalen,
Fairfield County Sheriff. "We're going to come in early and stay late
to put these drug dealers in jail."

A number of billboards within Fairfield County are showing Fairfield
County Canine Deputy John Williamson and Canine Deputy Arno with the
message of "Drug Dealers Beware!" displayed across the signs.

One of the major crime unit's plans to eliminate drug dealers is to
concentrate on checking school grounds, hallways, parking lots and
lockers. The schools in both Fairfield and Hocking County are being
very cooperative and encouraging concerning these methods of finding
drug dealers.

Orman Hall of the Alcohol, DrugAddiction and Mental Health Board
revealed the results of a survey of high school seniors in Fairfield
County. While drug and alcohol activity is lower than in 2004 and
below the national average, it's still nowhere near being completely
eliminated. The survey revealed that 13.1 percent of the high school
seniors questioned reported that it is easy to obtain cocaine; 34.6
percent said it is easy to obtain illicit prescription drugs; and 47.9
percent said it is easy to obtain marijuana.

The major crimes unit and the central Ohio federal drug task force,
HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area), have made 129
narcotics-initiated arrests in central and southeastern Ohio within
the past 18 months, confiscating over $2 million worth of cocaine,
over $41,000 worth of crack cocaine, $6 million worth of marijuana and
$40,000 worth of psilocybin mushrooms. These agencies also located 10
methamphetamine labs.

Eric Brown, commander of the major crimes unit, stated that the unit
is doing everything in their power to curtail the flow of narcotics
into Fairfield and Hocking County.