Iowa Receives Grant To Combat Meth Trafficking

A federal grant awarded to Iowa this week will help strengthen investigations of meth trafficking across the state, the Iowa Department of Public Safety announced today. The $281,000 grant comes from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Department of Public Safety is working with the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy to strengthen law enforcement investigations of illegal methamphetamine trafficking. “With methamphetamine distribution and use at or near record levels in Iowa, this modest infusion of resources comes at a welcome time to help leverage additional enforcement efforts aimed at intercepting larger shipments of meth smuggled into Iowa,” said Paul Feddersen, assistant director of the Division of Narcotics Enforcement. “Because of the volume of meth originating from south of the U.S. border, most grant funds will likely pay overtime for state and local law enforcement officers to investigate the Iowa end of international meth trafficking.”

The money comes from the 2017 COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program (CAMP) competitive grant and can be used to investigate illegal meth manufacturing or distribution activities. Iowa is one of six states to receive a federal award this year.

"We’re pleased to work with DPS in making more resources available to Iowa communities fighting back against meth trafficking,” said Dale Woolery, interim director of the Office of Drug Control Policy. “Due diligence is required by all of us to not only report suspicious drug activity to local law enforcement, but also to prevent young Iowans from using addictive drugs, and to intervene with loved ones addicted to meth so they get the help they need.”

This is the fourth consecutive year Iowa has received a CAMP grant, which currently supports meth enforcement efforts by 14 local agencies and the Department of Public Safety.

Photo: A deputy sheriff holds methamphetamine confiscated in a drug bust in Pratt, Kan., in 2005./Larry W. Smith/Getty News/Getty Images