The Niagara County Sheriff's office is pleased with a recent designation that will assist its personnel in cracking down on drug trafficking.
US Senator Charles Schumer was successful in getting the Obama administration to designate Niagara County as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. The designation means Niagara County law enforcement agencies, including the Sheriff's department, will have access to intelligence sharing plus new technology and additional resources to fight the drug problem.
Sheriff James Voutour said Niagara is not immune from the uptick in meth and heroin usage. Voutour said his department will now share intelligence with participating counties in New York and New Jersey.
"If we have a drug trafficker in Niagara County, we can say if he's on the radar in any other counties in the two states," Voutour said.
Voutour said there was a time where intelligence was collected in a deputy's notebook and shared verbally with others. Now, there are data bases that are accessible by various law enforcement agencies.
"We wish we didn't have any problems. The fact is we do and it's up to us to face those problems," Voutour said. "This is a tool that will help us."
Voutour said there are no boundaries for drug traffickers. So the more intelligence sharing there is, he said, the better the chances of making arrests of those engaging in illegal drug sales.