News Release



For further information please contact:

Sgt. Jason Clark

(573) 522-0980

DDCC080806

August 8, 2006



EMPHASIS: Operation Byrne Drugs



Colonel Roger Stottlemyre, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, announced on July 28, 2006, that Missouri law enforcement officers throughout the state participated in Missouri’s largest one-day drug enforcement operation in the state’s history. The success of that operation was immense and should establish the significance the Byrne Grant Funding plays to Missouri law enforcement and the fight against drugs.



Missouri was one of 26 states that participated in Operation Byrne Drugs. The large number of arrests and seizures that each state made is representative of what this nation’s law enforcement can accomplish when resources are pulled together to take illegal drugs off the streets.



In addition to the more than 3,000 arrests, the states that participated were successful in busting 55 meth labs, seizing $9 million in currency, nearly 300 guns, more than 16,000 pounds of marijuana, 61,000 marijuana plants, 2700 pounds of cocaine, 72 vehicles, and a variety of other drugs.



Operation Byrne Drugs was a national effort which was coordinated by the National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies (NASDEA), of which the Missouri State Highway Patrol is a member, to show how effective concentrated drug enforcement can be. In recent years, the Byrne Grant has been the subject of budget cuts, causing agencies across the country to scale back drug enforcement and other criminal justice programs.



A press release prepared by NASDEA follows.









NASDEA NEWS RELEASE

NASDEA Initiative Nets More than 3,000 Arrests Nationwide



For Immediate Release

August 4, 2006



The National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies (NASDEA) today announces the recent arrests of more than 3,000 individuals on drug-related charges following a national sweep conducted by 26 states at the end of July. The operation, dubbed “Operation Byrne Drugs” was a coordinated effort led by NASDEA to focus on drug-related crimes and the importance of federally funded Byrne Justice Assistance Grants in the day-to-day operations of drug enforcement.



“As this year’s president of NASDEA, I’m pleased and very appreciative that so many states opted to participate in this voluntary effort,” said NASDEA President Ken Tucker, Assistant Commissioner for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. “The large number of arrests and seizure that each state’s law enforcement agencies made is representative of what this nation’s law enforcement can accomplish when resources are pulled together to take illegal drugs off the streets.”



In addition to the more than 3,000 arrests, the 26 states that participated were successful in busting 55 meth labs, seizing $9 million in currency, nearly 300 guns, more than 16,000 pounds of marijuana, 61,000 marijuana plants, 2,700 pounds of cocaine, 72 vehicles, and a variety of other drugs.



Operation Byrne Drugs is a national effort to show how effective concentrated drug enforcement can be. The Edward Byrne grant program is named for a New York City police officer who was killed at a young age by organized drug traffickers who were trying to prevent a witness from being able to testify in a drug case. Each year, the United States Congress appropriates money to the Bureau of Justice Assistance in the Department of Justice. BJA distributes the formula grant component of the Byrne appropriation according to a state’s population. In recent years, the grant has been the subject of budget cuts, causing agencies across the country to scale back drug enforcement and other criminal justice programs.



“As a national organization, NASDEA is hopeful that congress will see the value of intensive drug enforcement efforts like this one, and consider the benefits that could be derived by reinstating previous funding levels in the future,” Tucker said.



State police and highway patrol agencies, local police and sheriff’s departments, and drug task forces throughout the nation collectively conducted undercover investigations, search warrants, consent searches, marijuana eradication efforts, drug interdiction and arrest warrants for a period of one day to a few weeks.



NASDEA was formed in 1975 to provide a forum for state drug enforcement executives to exchange information, concepts, techniques and management objectives unique to their area of law enforcement. NASDEA also serves as a collective voice for state level drug enforcement in providing input for the development of national drug strategies and programs.



For more information, please contact your state representative listed on the NASDEA Web site, www.nasdea.org