FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2001????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
OJP??
202/307-0703
OCPA
contact:? Sheila Jerusalem,? 202/616-3227
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AWARDS MISSOURI? $2.5?
MILLION
TO COMBAT METHAMPHETAMINE OPERATIONS
WASHINGTON, D.C. ? The Justice Department is awarding
nearly $2.5 million to support the Missouri Sheriffs? Methamphetamine Relief
Team (MOSMART) Project.?? The project
offers assistance to sheriffs and rural drug task forces in their fight against
clandestine methamphetamine laboratories.?
This award brings the total amount of Justice Department funding to
MOSMART to $5,642,975 since FY 2000.?
These funds are administered by the
Office
of Justice Program?s (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
?One of the most challenging aspects of America?s
illegal drug problem is the production of new types and forms of illegal
substances.? The Justice Department
working with state and local law enforcement agencies is committed to stopping
the production and distribution of drugs in our communities,? said OJP?s
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Tracy A. Henke.
One of the goals of the MOSMART project is to improve
Missouri?s? reporting of clandestine
laboratory seizures to the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC).? ?EPIC, established in 1974 as a Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) led center, has expanded beyond its original mission of addressing drug
movement and immigration violations and now also maintains the National Clandestine
Laboratory Seizure Database.?? EPIC is a
major national clearinghouse for criminal drug intelligence.??
MOSMART funds may be used for personnel, training,
equipment and prevention initiatives.?
Any officer funded by MOSMART is required to attend? DEA?s clandestine laboratory certification
school or possess a current lab certification.
?Illegal drugs pose a serious threat to our citizens
and are destroying the lives of many
American
children.? This initiative assists
Missouri?s law enforcement agencies to respond to and prevent illegal drug
production and trafficking,? said Henke.
?For
information about the MOSMART? Project
contact Sheriff John Jordan, Cape Girardeau?s County Sheriff at
573/243-3551.?? Information about OJP
bureaus and program offices is available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/.? Media should contact OJP?s
Office of Congressional and Public Affairs at 202/307-0703.