MONTGOMERY— The Morgan County Commission recently received a $119,500 grant from Gov. Robert Bentley to aid the fight against illegal drugs and violent crime in the county.
The grant is helping the Morgan County Narcotics and Violent Crimes Task Force continue investigating drug-related crimes and arresting suspects caught using, selling or trafficking illegal drugs.
“Illegal drugs are a serious threat to all regions and all levels of society,” Bentley said. “I commend the task force staff for their diligence in arresting and prosecuting drug offenders in Morgan County.”
The task force is a joint effort of the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department, the district attorney’s office and the Hartselle Police Department. It shares information with member agencies to help build cases and conducts join investigations with law enforcement agencies in the surrounding area.
Task force agents will continue focusing on methamphetamine which is the most prevalent drug in the county, according to task force officials. Of the task force’s 153 arrests from January to June 2011, 108 were for methamphetamine. The task force also discovered and dismantled 17 meth labs this year during the same six-month period.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grant from funds made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Justice. Local matching funds of $39,833 have been committed to the task force.
Bentley notified Ray Long, chairman of the County Commission, that the grant had been approved.
Contact: Russell Sellers, Larry Childers