Task Force Cracking Down On Drug Crimes In Tahlequah

<p>The officers of the Tahlequah Police Department have been busy arresting people on drug complaints and seizing illegal drugs.</p>

Tuesday, July 22nd 2014, 7:24 pm



A drug task force, including Tahlequah City police, has noticed new drugs showing up in Cherokee County. The drugs include LSD, and now, what originated as medical marijuana from Colorado and California.

The officers of the Tahlequah Police Department have been busy arresting people on drug complaints and seizing illegal drugs.

Monday, they seized a batch of LSD and medical marijuana, still wrapped in packages where it first sold legally in other states.

Police Chief Nate King said it's just another source of what's been a constant problem.

"Marijuana from Colorado and California, both still in the packages, it was shipped in, with FDA warnings on it that it might cause drowsiness and we haven't seen much of that in Tahlequah," King said.

In the last 45 days, King said officers from the task force have seized five pounds of marijuana and 60 tablets of acids, a car and plenty of smoking equipment for the drugs, along with five firearms, some meth and $18,000 in cash.

One officer alone has helped make five felony arrests.

The police said they have a lot of success with drug seizures, even without search warrants. They develop information about a drug dealer, then just knock on their door and ask if they can search it.

Believe it or not, King said people with drugs in the house will often let police do that just by them asking.

"Sometimes when an investigation falls short of search warrant criteria, we just go and talk to someone and say, ‘hey can we come in and look,’" he said.

The police chief credits the entire county law enforcement team - including Cherokee Marshal's - with working to get drugs off the street.

“We tend to focus on the same purpose and that's to make the community safer," King said.

The drug task force is overseen by the district attorney's office, and covers three counties.

While they occasionally use undercover officers, the police chief said that it's almost impossible for any of his officers to be undercover in a town where so many people know each other. 

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