|
STING |
NEW!!
For
Immediate Release
FIRST
DISTRICT RECEIVES $127,712 IN LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNDING FROM ECONOMIC RECOVERY
PACKAGE
“The
Byrne JAG program directly supports state and local law enforcement agencies in
combating violent crime and the spread of illegal drugs,” Stupak said. “As
our local law enforcement agencies confront layoffs as a result of budget
shortfalls it is important that we provide this funding to keep cops on the
street in our communities.”
City of
City of
City of
‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑
FIRST DISTRICT TOTAL
$127,712
The Byrne JAG Program, administered by U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, allows states and local governments to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime and improve the criminal justice system. JAG funds can be used for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and information systems for criminal justice for any one or more of the following purpose areas: law enforcement programs; prosecution and court programs; prevention and education programs; corrections and community corrections programs; drug treatment programs; and planning, evaluation, and technology improvement programs.
---end---
NEW!!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESIDENT
OBAMA ANNOUNCES RECOVERY ACT ALLOCATIONS FOR
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/recoveryJAG/recjag/MI.xls
“These
funds are a vital component in our effort to not just revive our economy, but to
build a new foundation for lasting prosperity and security,” President Obama
said. “By keeping police officers on the
streets whose jobs were threatened by budget cuts and ensuring states and
municipalities have the tools and equipment necessary to fight crime, this money
will simultaneously help jumpstart the American economy and protect our
citizens.”
The
procedure for allocating JAG grants is based on a formula of population and
violent crime statistics, in combination with a minimum allocation to ensure
that each state and territory receives an appropriate share of funding.
Sixty percent of the allocation is awarded directly to a state and 40
percent is set aside for units of local governments.
Funding will be used by states and more than 5000 local communities to
enhance their ability to protect communities and combat crime.
The
Recovery Act includes more than $4 billion to assist state, local and tribal law
enforcement and for other criminal and juvenile justice activities that help to
prevent crime and improve the criminal justice system in the
----end----
Search warrant yields large quantity of marijuana
Gaylord Herald Times
Deputies, detectives from STING (Strike Team Investigative Narcotics Group) and troopers from the Houghton Lake Michigan State Police post executed two search warrants Sunday at two Beaver Creek Township residences, which Sheriff Kirk Wakefield said turned up approximately three pounds of marijuana.
The warrants were executed simultaneously and in addition to marijuana, investigators reportedly seized distribution materials and weapons. No arrests were made at the time of the searches and the investigation is ongoing and multiple felony counts for several Crawford County residents are expected to be sought once the investigation is completed.
----end----
STING pot busts yield plants worth $200,000
By Jason Ogden, Oscoda Press
SHERMAN TWP. - Strike Team Investigative Narcotics Group (STING) officers thwarted the harvest of more than $200,000 worth of marijuana plants found growing in various locations in Iosco County on Aug. 19. The operation also netted a suspected drug manufacturer, according to Lt. Jeff Keister, commander of STING.
Keister said the plots or “marijuana gardens” were found during an aircraft survey of the county, which began Aug. 18. Police were also tipped to some of the locations. Three different locations were raided, netting 17 plants in the Sand Lake area; 171 plants in Plainfield Township, valued at $100,000; and 186 plants outside a private residence in Sherman Township, with a street value of $110,000, he said.
According to Keister, the street value estimates are conservative. A suspect has been identified and linked to the plants growing at the Sherman Township location, but his identity will not be released until warrants are issued and he is taken into custody. This could take more than a month, Keister said, as the plants need to be tested first.
“This was part of Operation DCE/SP,” Keister explained. “We use fixed wing aircraft and helicopters and fly around. This is how we find it. Once we spot it, we have probable cause to go on the property.” Keister said, in the case of the Sherman bust, the suspect’s residence was searched, with evidence found which has led the authorities to believe this was an in-home growing operation. This means that the plants were started from seed indoors, then transplanted when weather conditions were right. Among the items seized were grow lights, planting equipment, as well as materials used to package marijuana for sale. Sixteen long guns were also found in the residence.
Keister said police do not have a suspect for the marijuana plot in Plainfield Township, which was growing on state land, but said it was well tended. “My experience is, because these plants are so tall, six or seven foot, they could not have been started in the ground unless they were highly fertilized; they were started indoors,” he said.
Keister explained that often growers will simply throw marijuana seeds in a location and come back in hopes the unattended seeds grew. This is not the case in Plainfield. The plants found in all three seizures would have been ready for harvest within 30 days. Keister said, depending on the potency of the tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, in the plants, the growers could have gotten anywhere from $500 to $1,200 per pound. An average plant could have yielded at least a pound of product. The potency of the product will be determined at a university laboratory.
STING was assisted in the operation by the U.S. Forest Service, troopers from the East Tawas Michigan State Police Post, also the Michigan National Guard. The investigation into these and other growing operations is ongoing. Anyone with information can help stamp out illegal drugs by contacting STING at 989-345-2304 or by providing information to a local police department.
Keister said the unidentified suspect could be charged with felony manufacturing of drugs and maintaining a drug house. In addition, his assets can be seized and potentially forfeited.
---end---