Emery County Drug Task Force makes 11 arrests

By Patsy Stoddard

The past couple of months have been good for the Emery County Drug Task Force.  The task force was started a number of years ago to combat the growing drug problem, not just prevalent in Emery County but across the nation.
The task force along with Sheriff Greg Funk, Capts. Jeff Thomas and Kyle Ekker and detectives John Barnett and Jerod Curtis were heavily involved in the operation.
Task force agents said, “We really want to thank the entire team for this successful operation. We have several citizens that have become involved and volunteered to help. We’ve had several people that will call in tips and report suspicious activity.  We’ve all been effected by controlled substances in some way and it will take the entire community to fight it. We have made 11 arrests and with those 11 arrests, 36 charges have been filed. Distribution and possession with some of those arrested having multiple charges. This has been an ongoing investigation since the end of last year. These investigations take time and patience to gather the evidence we need for the charges. The arrests are for both drug dealers and drug users and most of those arrested do both. The drugs we have confiscated include: meth, heroin, pills, marijuana, cocaine and LSD. The pushers purchase these drugs from neighboring states and they come from California and Mexico. Some of our drug dealers, deal in Carbon County as well and their drug dealers come over here, too. We work closely with the Carbon County Drug Task Force.
“Drugs are always a concern and parents need to be aware of the drugs out there. These arrests we made were with people in their 50s that use drugs to a young lady in her early 20s.
“I am really happy these arrests were made. These people can now get themselves into treatment and get some help. They can go into drug court and if they are on probation they will be monitored. They can also receive other services to help get them off of drugs and help them to quit selling and get jobs and become productive citizens. Drugs can and do ruin lives. If you want to help the drug task force, you can call 381-2404 to report suspicious activity. We really couldn’t do this without public involvement.
“The Drug Task Force really wants to help young people from getting into drugs.  The NOVA program is great, it puts deputies into the schools to teach them to stay off of drugs. It’s also great because it puts the deputies and the kids together in a non-threatening environment. The deputies and the students become friends. I can’t emphasize enough  how important it is for parents to be involved in their kids lives. Know who their friends are and know their passwords, check their electronics. Know where they are going, trust your kids, but verify everything. Be involved and be supportive. Teach the kids how bad drugs are for them. It can happen to anyone. Anyone can become hooked on drugs from their first use. Don’t take that first drug or alcohol.
“Eleven arrests is a good start and we hope to get even more in our next round of arrests. We find a lot of cash, paraphernalia and surveillance equipment in these arrests, some of them are super paranoid and some are like whatever.  But, this is serious, these dealers are helping to ruin people’s lives.
“We will continue to work on keeping the drugs off the streets in Emery County and we need everyone’s help. We are grateful to the sheriff and the other deputies and captains who have helped with these arrests,” said the Drug Task Force agent.
Sheriff Funk said, “I would like to compliment our drug task force on the work they have done, this is just the beginning of the arrests.”