2017 Annual Report

INVESTIGATIVE
Narcotics Unit
OPERATIONS
Narcotics is part of the Fifth Judicial Drug and Violent Crime Task
Force, which is comprised of personnel from BCSO, Alcoa and
Maryville Police departments, and the Office of the Attorney
General. The Drug Task Force has one officer assigned full-time to
the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, TBI, and the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
In 2017, Task Force investigators apprehended 265 violators with
a total of 365 charges, including 208 felonies, 137 misdemeanors,
and 19 charges of investigative holds. They opened 384 cases,
and executed 14 search warrants. During 2017, investigators
maintained a 95% conviction rate.
The nationwide opioid crisis continues to touch the lives of Blount County citizens. Over the past 10 years, the
drug landscape in this country has changed, and the opioid threat (controlled prescription drugs, synthetic
opioids, and heroin) are reaching epidemic levels. In addition, the crystal methamphetamine threat is still
prevalent, and cocaine appears to be making a comeback. In the United States, drug overdoses are the
leading cause of injury death, and are at their highest ever recorded level. Much of the crystal methamphetamine
that comes into the United States is smuggled across the Mexican border instead of manufactured
locally. Heroin is smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico and Columbia. Over the years, federal and state
governments have cracked down and restricted the availability of painkillers, and people who once relied on
these narcotics began turning to heroin as an alternative. Law enforcement officials continue to see heroin laced
with Fentanyl, a powerful narcotic that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl is often used as
a diluter for heroin, and it increases its potency. The DEA issued a nationwide warning in 2015, and as a result,
many law enforcement agencies began carrying and using naloxone, a known antidote for opioid
overdose. In August 2015, the Sheriff’s Office launched the program, and now all patrolman, SROs, and other
front line deputies are equipped with this lifesaving
medicine. In 2017, 20 deputies administered 29
doses of Naloxone to 22 overdose victims, saving
the lives of 19 people. The Naloxone program was
started with the help of Blount Memorial Hospital’s
Substance Abuse Prevention Action Team (SAPAT).
A new alarming trend law enforcement is seeing
across the country is Fentanyl that is resistent to
Naloxone, causing the DEA to issue yet another
warning in May 2017.
The Sheriff’s Office and the Fifth Judicial Drug Task,
in conjunction with SAPAT, continue to participate in
Drug Take Back events, held annually in the spring
and fall at the Blount County Justice Center. There
is also a permanent drug drop box in the 24 hour
jail lobby.
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