MONTGOMERY— Gov. Bob Riley has awarded a $475,000 economic stimulus grant to boost a specialized law enforcement unit’s efforts to reduce the impact of illegal drugs. 

The grant will help the Etowah County Drug/Major Crime Task Force continue investigating cases involving illegal drugs and drug-related crimes in the county.

“When illegal drugs are removed from a community, other criminal activity is reduced and neighborhoods become safer places for our children,” Riley said. “I commend the drug enforcement unit for its efforts to protect the residents of Etowah County.”

The unit comprises members of the District Attorney’s Office, the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office and police departments within the county. The unit investigates all felony narcotic crimes in the county, conducts undercover operations and locates and destroys clandestine drug laboratories used to make illegal and dangerous drugs such as methamphetamine.

Since forming in 2005, the task force has initiated more than 4,000 cases, officials said. In addition to working cases in Etowah County, the unit shares information and cooperates with state and federal agencies involved in drug law enforcement.

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

Riley informed Larry Payne, chairman of the County Commission, that the grant had been approved.      

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Contact: Mike Presley, Larry Childers