Receiving almost 600 tips from people around the county, the Sanilac County Drug Task Force reports they had a very busy 2022.
With the report approved by the Sanilac County Board of Commissioners this past Tuesday, April 18, Drug Task Force Director Jim Johnson shared the compiled report recently, giving insight to what the task force had accomplished last year.
The drug task force reports that investigations resulted in 221 criminal charges filed and 135 people arrested, with the task force assisting in 95 arrests and directly arresting 40 people throughout the year. Of the charges, 113 were misdemeanors and 108 were felonies. According to the report, “a majority of these arrests had a direct connection to illegal use of drugs, alcohol abuse related matters, or were determined while investigating drug crime.”
Though there were only 11 undercover drug buys of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and prescription narcotics, the Drug Task Force completed 232 separate complaints and investigations. As part of these investigations, the task force conducted 44 searches, with 845 marijuana plants found during 2022. Later investigation found that only 8 of the plants were in compliance with state medical marijuana laws.
In terms of drugs seized during the year, officers seized less than 20 grams of both psilocybin mushrooms and cocaine, also seizing 41.1 grams of heroin across various investigations. Also seized over the course of 2022 was almost 669 pounds of illegally processed marijuana, a major increase from last year, when a little less than 6.5 pounds of the drug was seized. The task force also seized 359.1 grams of methamphetamine and almost 300 tablets of prescription drugs.
Meanwhile, almost 500 pounds of prescription medicine were turned in during 2022’s bi-annual Drug Take Back Days. You can contribute to next year’s statistics this Saturday, with the event running from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday at sheriff offices and Michigan State Police Posts in Sanilac County, as well as Huron, Lapeer, St. Clair and Tuscola Counties.
You can read the full report here:
