The camera discusses the county’s fight against drugs News, sports, jobs

Operation Our city continues to play a key role in helping law enforcers to fight crime in Blair County.

Operation Our city was founded in 2006 with the mission to facilitate partnerships between community and business to combat drug use and crime through proven techniques of treatment and prevention of law.

Value Drug Co. It was one of the first businesses on board.

“It was an amazing walk. I have seen an opportunity to work with the operation of our city and to be a corporate supporter and since then, ”said Pensioner President Greg Drew.

The Blair District Lawyer, Pete Week, told the members of the Chamber of Commerce in Blair on Thursday that local law offices are facing more deaths through drug overdose.

“I had another fatal overdose last night (Wednesday). It has become an almost daily event in Blair County. The vast majority are fentanyl mixed with xilazine. We know what people are killing, the problem is that it is capable of doing something in this regard, “said weeks.

The county has increased an increase in consumption of methamphetamine and traffic, along with other powerful drugs.

“In the last five to seven years, I have noticed an influx of methamphetamine, which was done in the south of Blair County, two or three times a year. Now it is not unusual to confiscate one to six kilograms on a traffic stop. We see Fentanil in bulk quantities that we have never seen before and combined with xylazine, which is stronger and more dependent, ”said weeks.

The weeks also said that there was an increase in human trafficking.

“Providing drugs to a drug addict for sex is human trafficking. In the last two or three years, it has become very widespread. Those who went to court were convicted, “said weeks.

Last year it was a busy year for officers in Blair County.

According to the operation of the year of application of the law of our city in revision, until mid -December, 93 drug arrests were made through the common efforts of the Narcotics Investigation Bureau and drug control and the drug group in Blair County. The overwhelming majority of the accusations were for methamphetamine and heroin/fentanil.

BNI and Task Force worked successfully throughout 2024, making search mandates, purchase/busts, procurement controlled by drugs and making saturation and prohibition patrols to improve the Blair county community. In December, a man from Philadelphia was stopped during a saturation detail and was arrested after being found with almost one kilogram of methamphetamine, more than 1,200 heroin/fentanil bags and more than 100 grams of cocaine/cocaine.

“The best way to combat the problem of the drug is by proactive drug application. The best opportunity for us to do this is to partner with the Attorney General, the State Police and the Operation of our city to make the operations possible, ”said weeks. “People talk about the cost of incarceration, they do not talk about the cost of not incarcerating those who prey to our community. … We have to make Blair County a safer place to live. “

Walt Frank, Mirror Personnel writer, at 814-946-7467.