Over 100 investigations, the arrest of 92 people, 27 of them known gang members. That was the work of the Columbia River Drug Task Force (CRDTF) in 2024.
"The battle against drugs is on ongoing thing," said Chelan County Sheriff’s Operations Chief and Drug Task Force Commander Ryan Moody. "It takes just a little bit of fentanyl to kill someone. It's directly related to crime , gang activity and very much related to theft." Stolen items used to fuel drug transactions.
The Chelan and Douglas County team of undercover detectives, includes K9 expert-drug-sniffing officers from the Sheriff's Office and East Wenatchee Police Department.
Last year, their work disrupted at least six drug trafficking organization, the seizure of over $65,000 in cash and approximately 11 vehicles that were involved in criminal activity.
"They start small and then somewhere along the way you realize these guys are dealing a lot," Chief Moody shared. "There was one that was a multi-county organization and they were actually bringing it (Illegal) drugs) in from the outside. They were local gang members. And we were also able to seize a good handful of guns. That was one of the many successes we had."
There was the recovery of 46 guns, approximately 5,520 grams of methamphetamine, 1,012 grams of cocaine, 6,396 fentanyl pills, and 1,611 grams of pure fentanyl powder.
"There's another 40 cases that are still open," Moody added. "Meaning they're (detectives) constantly working these open cases."
In addition to combating the drug epidemic, the CRDTF assists local agencies in dealing with major crimes like homicides, high risk arrests, and sex trafficking.
It’s safe to say, said Chief Moody, that without the efforts of the task force, the vehicles, guns, and illegal drugs would still be in our community.
Additionally, last year, task force officers provided gang and drug education to the Wenatchee Police Department Citizen Academy and local school students.
The task force is made up of officers from the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Wenatchee Police Department, and East Wenatchee Police Departments.
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