No discouraging news here today. Instead, out of Cheyenne we learn that there are a lot of people involved with stopping the illegal drug trade here in our state. More than the average person, or prospective dope dealer, might realize.
No longer is the fight like so many television shows where the local police argued with the “feds” about whose jurisdiction something was in and who was going to take care of the situations at hand. Instead, we have investigators on every single level and they all put their information and resources together with the goal in mind.
If you compare the fight to a basketball game, you might imagine what would happen if the forward decided to do his own thing and didn’t count on the point guards to give him a hand. The team has to work together: some blocking, some forging ahead, some taking the shot. It’s the same with the fight against drugs – believe it, there are plenty of jobs to go around and they are all important.
Local police officers work with sheriff’s deputies, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agents, Wyoming National Guard members, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and a U.S. Marshal. The DEA has a resident agent in charge of the team. The teams also work closely with the FBI, the IRS and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
A case might begin on a local level and eventually end up on the federal level once state lines have been crossed. In that case the Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI) drug enforcement team would be involved and then the DEA task force. It’s hard to figure out how much this costs in wages since everything is so intertwined and variable. Some cases break quickly – others take months or even years to pursue. Sometimes a member of one law enforcement group will actually be assigned to work with another one for months at a time.
DCI has Wyoming split into five regional areas, each with a drug enforcement team. The areas are: Southeast, Southwest, Central, Northeast and Northwest. Some of the workers are allowed to cross jurisdictions, which aids in the arresting process.
Traffickers entering the state of Wyoming ought to keep this in mind: you are being watched and followed, and we will find you.
