Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office receives seized drug fund check from DCI
Division of Criminal Investigation composed of law enforcement officials from southwest Wyoming, including Sublette County
by Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office
February 10, 2011
ROCK SPRINGS, Wyoming - The drug law enforcement resources of the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office received a windfall this week from a sister law enforcement agency.
Sweetwater County Sheriff Rich Haskell said the Division of Criminal Investigation recently presented the Sheriff’s Office with a check for $10,800.
Haskell said the funds originated from a 2010 Wyoming Highway Patrol traffic stop on Interstate 80 in Sweetwater County that resulted in the seizure of approximately $36,000 in U.S. currency. The DCI Southwest Enforcement Team, assisted by the Sheriff’s Office, conducted the follow-up investigation and determined the cash to be proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs. A team investigator on assignment from the Sheriff’s Office was instrumental in the investigation, and the agency was assigned 30% of the money. The balance has gone into the state’s drug seizure fund, which is used to facilitate drug team enforcement operations throughout the state.
The DCI Southwest Enforcement Team is comprised of DCI special agents and investigators from the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, the Green River Police Department, the Uinta County Sheriff’s Office, the Evanston Police Department, the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office, and the Teton County Sheriff’s Office.
Haskell said the funds will be used to purchase an additional drug detection dog for the Sheriff’s Office, which will be assigned to Deputy Sheriff Matt Rushing. Rushing and the dog will also undergo advanced training.
In January, deputies on another traffic stop seized 14 pounds of marijuana and hashish located by Blitz, a veteran county drug dog.
"Additional drug enforcement assets are always welcome," said Haskell. "We appreciate the funds and we’ll make good use of them."
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