By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
A recent meth bust points to the growing drug problem in Buchanan County.
Captain Shawn Collie says officers are seeing more instances of fentanyl, but more common has been a growing problem of methamphetamine.
"We're seeing a lot of meth and the heroin obviously goes along with some of the fentanyl," Collie tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "But our meth and heroin cases are still kind of an everyday thing that we're seeing that's still on the increase as well, and they're reaching levels that we just haven't seen before in the past."
Collie says the Buchanan County Drug Task Force has been working to raise awareness and educate both the community and schools about the dangers of drugs.
Collie says methamphetamines and heroin seem to be the most common cases when officers are called.
"Unfortunately, we're seeing that right off the bat, but then through our lab analysis and other stuff then we're seeing where the fentanyl is being mixed in," Collie explains. "But, just the pure fentanyl type seizures they're up there but they're not as common still as heroin and methamphetamines."
Collie says officers are working to be proactive and keep on top of cases in St. Joseph.
Collie with the Buchanan County Drug Task Force says there have been changes to the drug trade, shifting more online to social media.
"People may think that they're impossible to detect, which isn't true, but they are definitely are harder to detect than the days where we just used to have the people out on the streets or just doing stuff out in the open," Collie says. "Now, a lot of it seems to be more concealed within the homes or concealed through different kinds of electronic apps."
Collie says the most common drug cases the task force works involves methamphetamines and heroine, but officers have spotted more and more fentanyl.