DeKalb County Police were busy last year fighting the war on drugs.
Friday, DeKalb’s Public Safety Deputy Chief Operating Officer Cedric Alexander was flanked by masked undercover narcotics officers, drug-sniffing dogs and detectives when he announced that more than $128 million in drugs had been confiscated in 2013.
“We decided we’re going to focus on crime and the things that create crime in this county,” Alexander said, acknowledging the hundreds of pounds of confiscated marijuana and other drugs on display at police headquarters and a recent police reorganization. “What you see here is the success of some of those internal changes we decided to make … in order for us to make this a success for us.”
Nearly 1,000 arrests were made in connection with drug activity, Alexander said.
Included in the amount of drugs taken off the street were 302 kilograms of methamphetamine, 6,000 pounds of marijuana, 565 kilograms of powder cocaine, and 1 kilogram of crack cocaine, police said.
Drug investigators also seized $3.4 million in cash.
“We know drugs contribute to violent crimes,” Alexander said. “A couple of days ago you may recall we reported some reduction in crime – both in violent crime and property crime.”
DeKalb narcotics detectives said many traffickers carry illicit drugs in secret compartments created in the vehicles they drive.
Either in hollowed out dashboards or floor boards, traffickers can hide up to 100 kilograms of illegal products, or cash and guns without immediate detection.
Alexander said police are working with federal and state authorities to curtail drug trafficking by cartels, who have targeted the metro Atlanta area as a hub for moving narcotics to other areas of the nation.
“We in no way are concluding that we won this war,” he said. “We’re going to be relentless in efforts to go after those who intend to bring drugs and other (related) crime into DeKalb County.”
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