Roanoke Valley Police join together to reduce drug trafficking

Four local police departments, Virginia State Police, and multiple federal agencies located in the Roanoke Valley are coming together to create the Roanoke Valley Regional Drug Initiative.

The goal of the initiative is to reduce drug trafficking in the area.

An $83,114 grant will help the agencies pool their resources and work together.

Using that grant, police will purchase equipment for their workspace which will be at the Roanoke County Public Safety Center.

Some of the money from the grant will also be used for undercover operations.

Roanoke County Police say drug trafficking is a problem in the area.

All of the jurisdictions within the Roanoke County territorial border are considered to be critical drug trafficking regions.

The grant money is being provided to the departments by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program.

Representatives of the Roanoke County Police Department, Roanoke City Police Department, Vinton Police Department, Salem Police Department, Virginia State Police, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, US Marshall's Service, Department of Homeland Security, US Postal Inspector, FBI, as well as the Commonwealth Attorneys from Roanoke, Roanoke County, and Salem and the US Attorney for the Western District of Virginia all worked on the agreement with HIDTA to get to funding for the Roanoke Valley.

The group has set a goal of making 100 arrests in the first year.

Continued funding for the initiative will be determined based on the effectiveness of the program.