ONIC, RecoveryOhio participate in coordinated drug, outreach saturation event in Franklin County
The Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center (ONIC) and RecoveryOhio joined the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and treatment agencies recently to conduct the state’s latest coordinated drug/outreach saturation event.
The multi-day Operation Bridging Recovery and Interdiction Data Gathering Enforcement (BRIDGE) event focused on removing drugs and drug traffickers from the streets while connecting individuals with substance use disorder to help and treatment. Previous Operation BRIDGE events this year occurred in Lawrence, Ross and Scioto counties, plus the statewide BRIDGE Day effort on June 19 that held outreach events in all 88 Ohio counties.
“The numbers prove that Operation BRIDGE works,” said Kristen Slaper, Deputy Director of Law Enforcement Initiatives for the Ohio Department of Public Safety. “Lawrence, Ross, and Scioto counties all saw a decrease in drug activity and overdoses in the weeks following the saturation event. This two-pronged approach is saving lives.”
Law enforcement agencies fanned out across Franklin County to confiscate illegal drugs and to stop the couriers responsible for supplying drugs to the area. Quick Response Team (QRT) personnel connected individuals in need of recovery support to services and treatment.
During Operation BRIDGE, law enforcement executed 38 warrants; seized four guns, 390 grams of cocaine and 132 grams of fentanyl; and made 35 drug-related felony arrests. Outreach teams were able to connect 19 people with substance use disorder to treatment and refer another 74.
RecoveryOhio supported the mission by working with local agencies to have naloxone kits to distribute. Naloxone (also known as Narcan) is a medication that can reverse an overdose caused by an opioid drug (heroin, fentanyl or prescription pain medications). To access naloxone, visit www.naloxone.ohio.gov.
“This initiative is not about not holding people accountable when they’re bringing drugs into our communities,” said Aimee Shadwick, Director of RecoveryOhio. “We need people to have the opportunity to engage in high-quality treatment and be offered that opportunity for recovery rather than spending time in the criminal justice system.”
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed an executive order in July 2019 creating ONIC, a specialized criminal intelligence unit to assist local law enforcement in conducting intelligence-driven drug trafficking investigations. ONIC has locations in Cleveland, Columbus, southwest Ohio and Toledo. ONIC’s criminal intelligence analysts and computer forensic specialists provide investigative, analytical and digital forensic support to local law enforcement agencies and drug task forces throughout Ohio. The Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center is a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
Immediately after taking office in 2019, Governor DeWine signed an executive order creating the RecoveryOhio initiative to support aggressive measures to combat the opiate epidemic by investing in the health and well-being of Ohio citizens.