MARMET's work praised by state group

MARION — The rapid investigation into Blue Drop heroin in late May and early June was a key part of MARMET's nomination for state drug task force of the year, and it led to the local group being recognized by state law enforcement leaders.

The Ohio Narcotics Association of Regional Coordinating Officers announced the results of their annual awards Wednesday, according to a Marion Police Department posting on Facebook.

MARMET Lt. Chris Adkins said that while a larger task force won first place, the leaders said MARMET had seized a high volume of drugs for its size and the population of the community.

"They wanted to recognize us because of some of the bigger cases and stuff we were doing," Adkins said. "A lot of it has to do with the fact that we're one of the top producers, at least for a community our size as far as serving search warrants and indictments and the drugs that are located."

"This unit has seized over 2,000 grams of heroin this year alone, worth about $400,000 on the street," said Chief Bill Collins of the Marion Police Department in the Facebook posting.

Sheriff Tim Bailey also praised MARMET detectives for taking drugs off the street and arresting drug traffickers in the community.

Rounding out the praise was County Prosecutor Brent Yager, who said that MARMET and dedicated assistant county prosecutors were making a difference.

According to the Ohio NARCO website, Ohio has 27 multi-jurisdictional drug task forces, many of which, like MARMET, are a collaboration among sheriff's offices and city police departments while some are independent agencies.

The association also offers recognizes the Officer of the Year and gives out an Award for Valor to an officer who was injured in the line of duty or prevented loss of life in a narcotics operation. These awards will be presented during the group's annual conference in October.

shickey@marionstar.com
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