Task forces: $64 million in drugs seized last year

Law enforcement officials in Ohio confiscated more than $64 million worth of illegal drugs in 2022, according to data compiled by the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission.
“Every ounce of fentanyl taken off the street can prevent an overdose, just like every illegal gun seized has the potential to save a life,” Dave Yost, Ohio Attorney General, who chairs the commission, said. “The work of task forces is often covert, but the results do not go unnoticed.”
In addition to narcotics, task forces also seized 437 firearms and $7.7 million in currency in 2022.
The 2022 numbers bring the total task force seizures since 2019 to $239.9 million in narcotics, 1,374 in firearms, and $56 million in currency.
Major task force operations in 2022 include:
The Lucas and Wood Counties Major Drug Interdiction Task Force assisted the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office in June with an investigation that included a report of a deceased person. Initial responders discovered evidence of possible drug trafficking and notified the task force. After executing a search warrant, officers located 40 pounds of marijuana, drug trafficking ledgers and $166,597 in cash.
The task force includes the Toledo Police Department, the sheriff’s offices and prosecutor’s offices of both counties, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Toledo Drug Task Force, Ohio Highway Patrol, Perrysburg Police Department, and U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District of Ohio.
The Licking, Guersney, and Muskingum County Major Drug Interdiction Task Force received a tip in July about a suspicious package at a parcel facility. About four pounds of methamphetamine were recovered. The package was mailed from California with a destination of Zanesville.
The Medina and Summit Counties Major Drug Interdiction Task Force in April became aware of a drug trafficking suspect staying at a local hotel. The suspect parked a vehicle at a retail outlet and entered the store but didn’t return to the vehicle. The task force executed a search warrant on the vehicle and seized more than $1 million in currency. The vehicle was impounded and the suspect sought to recover it but denied any knowledge of the money and abandoned the cash.