Delaware, Chester counties join network that targets drug trafficking

Delaware and Chester counties have joined a law-enforcement network that targets major drug-trafficking operations in the Philadelphia-Camden area.

At a news conference yesterday officials announced the inclusion of the suburban counties in the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program - a federal program administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Nearly two decades ago, the government began to designate certain parts of the country as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA). In turn, more federal assistance was provided to those regions.

In 1995, Philadelphia-Camden was designated as an HIDTA, according to the drug-policy office.

Yesterday's inclusion of the suburban counties marks the first expansion of the regional operations since its formation.

"Today is a good day for Chester and Delaware counties," said Scott Burns, deputy director of the national drug-policy office. "Today is a bad day for drug-trafficking organizations in Philadelphia and New Jersey"

The counties were included in the program to benefit them and the larger HIDTA network, in which law-enforcement agencies share and trade information.

District Attorneys Michael Green of Delaware County and Joseph Carroll of Chester Country sought inclusion in the program, which targets mid-to-upper-level drug-trafficking organizations.

Green said Delaware County is geographically unique in that three major thoroughfares run through its borders - the Delaware River, Interstate 95 and the Blue Route. "Those are the major ways drugs are trafficked and cargoed in this region," he said.

Authorities know there are drug operations working in Delaware County in various ways, housing, storing or trafficking illegal substances, Green said.

A key component to joining the program, he said, is the ability to conduct "real-time" communications with all participating agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The inclusion of the suburban counties in the Philadelphia-Camden HIDTA will bring an extra $200,000 in funding to the program each fiscal cycle, U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said.

This year, the local HIDTA is slated to share $4 million.

The additional funds will go to overtime for officers and detectives, Meehan said. *