Scioto County Sheriff David Thoroughman held a press conference to update citizens on an intense two-day effort by local law enforcement to crack down on drug dealers and help addicts get the help they need. The joint operation is called Operation Bridge.
The operation had two components. One is drug interdiction and arrest, and the second part is saturating the community with an outreach effort. Over the past two days, law enforcement officials concentrated on major drug routes coming into the county and known drug hotspots. Officers seized drugs and made multiple arrests.
Outreach partners in drug treatment tried to get the word out to people that help is available.
Sheriff David Thoroughman said that over 90% of arrests in the county are related directly or indirectly to drugs. That, in the past two years, deputies have recovered over 70 lbs of pot, more than 15 lbs of meth, over 17 lbs of cocaine, and more than 14 lbs of fentanyl.
“Here’s how scary that last statistic is,” Thoroughman said. “According to the DEA, that 14 lbs of fentanyl could kill 2.25 million people.”
Portsmouth Police Chief Debby Brewer said the area is hit hard by drugs because it is right on what’s known as the ‘US 23 Pipeline,’ a major route for bringing drugs into Ohio. Brewer said, “Our officers work hard to stop the traffickers, hoping to cut off the supply and curb the demand. She said that so far in 2023, PPD patrol officers had made 25 drug arrests and three trafficking arrests. “This is in addition to the great work done by the Southern Ohio Drug Taskforce and the Southern Ohio Organized and Major Crimes Taskforce.”
Brewer said the constant flow of drugs into our area makes it difficult for those suffering from addiction to avoid temptation. “That is why my department is grateful to be part of Operation Bridge. Not only are we arresting traffickers, we are offering those with substance abuse disorder a path to recovery.” Chief Brewer said the team effort was crucial to getting drugs out of the city, county, and state.
Scioto County Commissioner Bryan Davis also spoke at the event. “Operation Bridge has been a huge success here in Scioto County. There isn’t a whole lot of infrastructure in other counties to do what has been successfully done here.” Davis said the county is using many means to fight the drug epidemic, including cracking down on drug dealers and offering recovery services for addicts. “Scioto County can and will care for its own. If a struggling person wants and needs help, we are blessed to have compassionate and caring organizations both public and private to help.”
However, Davis said there are some things the county has no compassion for. “We reserved the right to lower the hammer on traffickers and distributors. Those who would peddle their poison in Scioto County need to know that they do so at their own peril.”
Davis said the goal of Operation Bridge is to lower the number of addicted individuals and reduce the overdose epidemic. “We can and we must win this fight in our community.”
Dick Meadows, from the Department of Public Safety, said, “When illegal narcotics are diverted from a community, there are still people there waiting on those drugs. If they don’t get it from the person they normally get it from, they’ll go to someone they don’t know or get a drug they don’t have a tolerance for.” He said the outreach efforts of local addiction services providers had been invaluable. He commended Sheriff Thoroughman and Chief Brewer for their proactive approach to law enforcement. “In law enforcement, we measure everything by stats. I don’t think this is a program we can measure by stats. In the last two days, I’ve seen a system in place by local law enforcement and outreach programs lead to great success.”
As part of the outreach program, multiple service providers set up in Tracy Park to offer help to those in need of assistance with addiction.
