The number of drug arrests made last year by Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputies increased 33 percent.
That’s according to the department’s annual report, released recently by Sheriff Matt Myers.
The 521 drug arrests last year compared to 392 in 2016, the report said.
That trend is somewhat tied to an increase in traffic stops, which rose by 30 percent last year.
Deputies made 7,323 traffic stops last year, an increase from 5,662, the report said.
Many drug-possession cases originate from routine traffic stops, the report said.
Another component of the drug-fighting effort is the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET), a combined unit of the sheriff’s department, Columbus Police Department and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s office. Formed in early 2015, JNET targets the manufacturing, sale and abuse of dangerous drugs in Bartholomew County.
JNET last year issued 12 federal indictments involving local drug activity, as well as three state arrests and convictions, the report states.
More than five pounds of crystal methamphetamine, as well as one pound of heroin and more than 150 firearms, were seized in the Columbus area last year, according to the report.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
