Christiaan Tarbox
Hennepin County will receive federal funds to help combat drug trafficking thanks to a special designation from a national drug control program.
Along with Anoka, Dakota, Ramsey and Washington Counties, Hennepin was included in the Wisconsin High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area on Oct. 13, where the designated counties would receive future federal resources to aid their drug control efforts among law enforcement officials.
The designation, announced by National Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli, was thanks to the efforts of U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (DFL-Minnesota), who wrote a letter to Botticelli in August in support of the five counties’ inclusion in the initiative. The designation will allow for greater cooperation and information sharing with local and federal law enforcement officials to counter the trafficking of illegal drugs in Minnesota, such as heroin.
“Opioid abuse remains a serious issue in Minnesota. We need to continue to do all that we can to provide communities across our state with the tools they need to fight addiction,” said Klobuchar in a statement. “That’s why I called on the Office of National Drug Control Policy to include these five counties in the Wisconsin High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Designation. Greater coordination among all levels of law enforcement will help bring us one step closer to ending this deadly epidemic.”