White House names Grant County a "High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area"

The top federal prosecutor in Eastern Washington said June 4 that it was “great news” that Grant County was named a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).

William D. Hyslop, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington said the sheriff’s office had achieved the designation that will “bring greater information sharing and intelligence within the HIDTA network of law enforcement agencies to attack the ever-present drug problem. It will enable the County to be eligible to apply for greater federal resources to augment the County’s law enforcement efforts. Both of those can lead to taking more criminals off the streets and to a safer and more secure County for the law abiding public.”

Created by Congress in 1988, the HIDTA task force program creates a mechanism for coordination of federal, state, local and tribal resources to combat drug trafficking and reduce the supply of illegal drugs in designated regions of the country.

And it will bring “greater information sharing and intelligence within the HIDTA network of law enforcement agencies to attack the ever-present drug problem. It will enable the County to be eligible to apply for greater federal resources to augment the County’s law enforcement efforts,” Hyslop said.

Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones said, “This designation showcases the strength of our investigators, and makes the Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team (INET) eligible for greater resources to fight drug crimes in Grant County.”