MONTGOMERY— A specialized law enforcement unit’s efforts to reduce the impact of illegal drugs in Marion County received a boost in the form of a $265,000 economic stimulus grant from Gov. Bob Riley.

The grant will help the Marion County Drug Task Force continue investigating cases involving the distribution and sale of illegal drugs used locally as well as those that are smuggled across the county to larger markets.

“Illegal drugs endanger communities and ruin lives,” Riley said. “I commend the officers of the task force for their efforts to investigate and prosecute the distributors, sellers and users of illegal drugs.”

The multi-jurisdictional task force initiates its own investigations and  conducts joint operations with law enforcement agencies in neighboring counties and with state and federal agencies. Task force agents also uncover and dismantle dangerous methamphetamine labs.

The task force is specifically targeting U.S. Highway 78, the road between Memphis, Tenn. and Birmingham which will eventually become Interstate 22. Task force officials say the highway is a major route for the flow of illegal narcotics to Birmingham and Atlanta.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grant from funds made available to Alabama by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Riley informed Kenny Jackson, chairman of the County Commission, that the grant had been approved. 

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Contact: Mike Presley, Larry Childers