By ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Formed in 2024 to combat an ever-increasing drug crisis in communities throughout the region, the Southwest Kansas Drug Task Force was honored recently by being named this year’s Kansas Narcotics Officers Association Drug Unit of the Year.
Members of the Seward County Sheriff’s office and the Haskell County Sheriff’s office assigned to the Drug Task Force received the award April 15.
Currently, officers from the two sheriff’s offices make up the Drug Task Force, and it was in 2024 when they recognized a growing drug crisis in Haskell County and Seward County communities as well as other communities in Southwest Kansas.
“With this apparent need in mind, the Multi-Jurisdiction Drug Enforcement Task Force, dubbed the ‘Southwest Kansas Drug Task Force,’ was formed to combat these drug offenders,” Seward County Sheriff Gene Ward said in a press release.
Ward said in the task force’s inaugural year, immediate and significant success was seen in combating drug trafficking and distribution in the region.
“Through their investigations, the Southwest Kansas Drug Task Force directly seized 13 pounds of methamphetamine and 39 pounds of cocaine that was destined to be distributed in the Southwest Kansas region,” he said. “Their efforts caused the availability of drugs to plummet and the prices to skyrocket. The conducting of countless debriefs revealed subjects could no longer easily purchase their drug of choice within the Southwest Kansas Drug Task Force jurisdictions and were forced to go to other jurisdictions to purchase the drugs. This is a testament to the impact of the Southwest Kansas Drug Task Force has had within their communities.”
Ward said a great example of the effect the task force has had is an investigation into a cocaine and methamphetamine distributor who utilized the parcel service to receive two to four pounds of drugs at a time.
“This investigation resulted in search warrants conducted in a home in which three children were removed from the home and placed into productive custody,” he said. “The children’s ages were 9 years old, 6 years old and a baby only 5 months old.”
Ward said the meth and cocaine seized from the search warrant were located in the bedroom of these children.
“There was methamphetamine out in the open to be weighed and packaged,” he said. “In this environment, methamphetamine was found on the nipple of the baby’s bottle. All three children tested positive for having methamphetamine in their systems when taken into productive custody.”
Ward said he has no doubt the efforts of the task force saved the lives of these children who were subject to a horrific environment.
“I would like to commend the members of the Southwest Kansas Drug Task Force in recognition of their incredible efforts and in being honored with the prestigious award of the 2024 Kansas Narcotics Officers Association Drug Unit of the Year,” he said.
