RIDGELAND POLICE GRANTED DRUG-INTERDICTION MONEY

Gov. Mark Sanford on Tuesday announced a $58,095
drug-interdiction grant had been awarded to the Ridgeland Police
Department. The James F. Byrnes Federal Drug Control Grant, which was
first announced by Ridgeland Police Chief Richard Woods last month,
will be used toward a Chevrolet Tahoe, equipment and a full-time
officer to be added to the nine-member department.

The grant was announced the day after Ridgeland police seized 30
kilograms of cocaine with a street value of $4.2 million from a
vehicle heading north on Interstate 95 toward Columbia, Woods has
said. Atlanta resident David Simon, 34, faces federal trafficking
charges that carry a penalty of at least 30 years in jail. He's being
held in the Jasper County Detention Center on $750,000 bond.

The grant "will give a local law enforcement agency the capability to
curtail drug trafficking on Interstate 95, long recognized as a major
conduit for narcotics," Sanford said in a news release.