CHECK WILL HELP FIGHT DRUGS

Part Of Money Seized In Raid: Sheriff Gets $204,304 From Charlotte Agency

The Union County sheriff's efforts to stem drug traffic seem to be
paying off, literally.

Thursday morning, representatives from the Drug Enforcement Agency's
office in Charlotte handed Sheriff Eddie Cathey a check for
$204,304.75. The money is a portion of more than $700,000 the DEA
seized during a drug raid with help from the Sheriff's Office. Details
of the raid aren't available because the case is still under
investigation, Cathey said. In a partnership between the DEA and the
Sheriff's Office, Cathey has assigned a deputy to work full time on a
DEA task force. The partnership is about a year old, and the Sheriff's
Office routinely gets checks from the agency, Cathey said But his
office has never received a check like this. "We've gotten in the 80s
before, but never this much," he said.

The DEA's regional office also is partnered with the Monroe Police
Department and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Eighty percent
of the drug money seized in the region is divided among the three
departments; the rest goes to administration costs, said John Emerson,
assistant special agent in charge with the DEA.

"The drug war is such a monumental task for us, we can't do it on our
own," Emerson said.

There are five DEA offices in the state, and each develops regional
partnerships.

"We'll take this money and buy more equipment, technology and use it
for drug eradication programs in Union County," Cathey said.