By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
A new state grant will help the Buchanan County Sheriff's office add more force to fight the growing drug problem.
Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett says over 300-thousand dollars of state money has been given to his office in the recent grant.
Puett says the first round of money will help hire three new deputies as part of a new drug strike force.
"One of them will be a K-9 handler and so the K-9 is also going to be part of this grant," Puett tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "So, these are going to be individuals that are specifically focused on working methamphetamine, fentanyl, opioids."
The money will also be used to hire a new drug enforcement prosecutor as well as three new vehicles for the new forces.
Puett says getting new prosecutor Michelle Davidson a drug enforcement prosecutor is going to be very helpful.
"Those things are extremely important and we look for those opportunities to enhance our services and do other things for the community," Puett says. "And so, this is just starting to get sped up, we don't have a lot of detail that we're ready to say."
Puett says these new deputies will be hired, along with the K-9 unit, will specifically focus on drug trafficking into Buchanan County.
"They will be working in conjunction with some other entities on how drugs are being shipped into our community," Puett explains. "We are seeing significant quantities."
Puett says a recent search warrant by the drug task force recovered five pounds of methamphetamine at one location.