Ocean County will receive federal resources to help fight the heroin and opioid epidemic.
On Sept. 28, New Jersey’s U.S. senators, Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, announced the expansion of the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA), a federal drug prevention program, to include Ocean County and assist efforts to battle the opioid epidemic, according to a press release.
The designation will allow Ocean County to receive federal resources to further the coordination and development of drug control efforts among federal, state and local law enforcement officials, according to the press release.
According to NY/NJ HIDTA, in 2015 Ocean County had the second highest incidence of heroin-related deaths in New Jersey, due in large part to the influx of potent heroin that was laced with toxic adulterants, including fentanyl.
In 2016, Booker and Menendez were successful in expanding the New York/New Jersey HIDTA to include Monmouth County, which has experienced a sharp rise in heroin and opioid use and trafficking, according to the press release.
Through that designation, Monmouth County was eligible to receive $125,000 in federal funding to support a team led by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office consisting of the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, local law enforcement and other partners to focus on opioid- and heroin-related investigations and outreach, according to the press release.
HIDTA was created by Congress through the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 and provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States.
