Stearns County Gets Designation to Help Fight Drug Trafficking

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- Stearns County has been designated as a High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

It means the county will now have access to federal intelligence analysts, federally funded training for law enforcement, and federally funded options for investigating drug trafficking.

According to the sheriff's office, Stearns and Beltrami counties are among only five such designations in the United States.

Sheriff Steve Soyka says the Central Minnesota region has seen an increase in drug trafficking and also serves as a central distribution point.

The sheriff's office has applied for the HIDTA designation in the past but had been denied until now.

Stearns County will now be part of the North Central HIDTA group consisting of numerous agencies from both Minnesota and Wisconsin.