With illegal drug operations plaguing the hills of Appalachia, 52 task forces have been formed across four states in efforts to dismantle as many criminal drug organizations as possible.
Based in London, the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force has an opportunity to expand its resources further with the help of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives through a new mobile technology unit.
Vic Brown, the deputy director who oversees all 52 groups within the task force, said the drug trade and violent crime involving firearms go hand-in-hand.
Brown said the group was “very lucky to have partnered with the ATF” for the mobile unit, which will use firearm ballistic imaging to connect guns to different crimes and give new leads where there may have not been any before.
“It’s a great opportunity to be able to solve a lot of crimes across the country whether they originate in this area or they are crimes brought into this area from other locations,” Brown said.
Shawn Morrow, special agent in charge with the ATF Louisville Division, says the agency’s main priority is disrupting violent crime involving firearms.
“First and foremost – I will say it over and over – we are a law enforcement agency that prioritizes violent crime,” Morrow said. “It is important for people to understand that ATF is absolutely focused on crime guns. We are absolutely focused on individuals who are using guns to hurt other people, to hurt our communities and that is...
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