A student arrested for marijuana trafficking in Humphrey Hall. A group of three men arrested for selling cocaine in Brimfield. A man arrested for selling ecstasy pills in Kent.

All three incidents have one thing in common: the Portage County Drug Task Force.

For the past nine months, the task force has been actively trying to reduce the amount of drug activity in Portage County. The police departments of Aurora, Streetsboro, Ravenna, Windham and Kent, along with the Portage County Sheriff’s Office and the Portage County Prosecutor’s Office, have joined forces to counteract what they consider a serious problem.

“We’re really pleased with the progress we’ve made,” Portage County Sheriff Duane Kaley said. “It’s been a great year. Other chiefs would agree we’ve had a really productive year.”

The sheriff’s office is in charge of the task force. One or two officers from police departments around the county are on the task force. Because the task force officers work undercover, they are not allowed to speak to the media.

In 2005, there were 258 felony drug cases in the county. In 2006, the number rose to 314, which Portage County prosecutor Victor Vigluicci attributes to the presence of the task force.

“It’s been very active and successful in removing drug distributors and also possessors,” Vigluicci said.

He said that a variety of drugs are popular in Portage County, including heroin and marijuana.

Kaley agreed and said cocaine is still a popular drug.

“We see a lot of crack and crystal methamphetamine,” Kaley said. “You can attribute it to the fact that a lot of people can go on the net and get the recipe. A lot of the ingredients are household chemicals.”

But he said it is easier to halt the growth of meth use since the state passed restrictions on the sale of Sudafed, which can be used to make crystal meth.

The sheriff’s office, which has jurisdiction over the entire county, found that having a county-wide task force is more efficient.

“Drug dealers are mobile,” Kaley said. “They move around. We might have one busy month in Kent, the next month it’s Windham. Drug traffickers know no boundaries.”

With the recent drug bust at Humphrey Hall, Kent State police worked with the task force.

“We do the immediate securing of the scene, but they do the extended investigation,” said John Peach, Kent State police chief. Kent State is not officially part of the task force.

“After the downsizing of our department, we no longer had the ability to provide for an officer to join the task force,” Peach said. “However, we are still working with the agencies involved.”

He said the communication and cooperation between the Kent State police department and the task force couldn’t be better.

“We work on having a safe environment,” he said. “Our primary role is law enforcement. Many issues we handle ourselves.”

Peach said the university has no tolerance for illegal drugs on campus.

“If a student is found guilty, (he or she) will be kicked out,” he said.

However, Peach said if the suspect is willing to provide valuable information for catching some drug dealers around campus and in Portage County, they will refer them to the task force and in exchange for some or all of the charges to be dropped in court.

“It works pretty well,” he said. “People are sometimes desperate.”

R.P. Flynn, director of judicial affairs, said there have been 332 cases since the summer. Approximately 20 percent are drug related. Virtually all involved marijuana, he said.

“I don’t think Kent State has a big drug problem,” Flynn said. “I think it’s because we take care of it when the problem is still small.”

Peach said the department hasn’t seen an increase, but they need a couple of years to see a trend.

“Most of the armed robberies on campus have been drug related,” Peach said. “We don’t want an environment where it keeps building.”

A student arrested for marijuana trafficking in Humphrey Hall. A group of three men arrested for selling cocaine in Brimfield. A man arrested for selling ecstasy pills in Kent.

All three incidents have one thing in common: the Portage County Drug Task Force.

For the past nine months, the task force has been actively trying to reduce the amount of drug activity in Portage County. The police departments of Aurora, Streetsboro, Ravenna, Windham and Kent, along with the Portage County Sheriff’s Office and the Portage County Prosecutor’s Office, have joined forces to counteract what they consider a serious problem.

“We’re really pleased with the progress we’ve made,” Portage County Sheriff Duane Kaley said. “It’s been a great year. Other chiefs would agree we’ve had a really productive year.”

The sheriff’s office is in charge of the task force. One or two officers from police departments around the county are on the task force. Because the task force officers work undercover, they are not allowed to speak to the media.

In 2005, there were 258 felony drug cases in the county. In 2006, the number rose to 314, which Portage County prosecutor Victor Vigluicci attributes to the presence of the task force.

“It’s been very active and successful in removing drug distributors and also possessors,” Vigluicci said.

He said that a variety of drugs are popular in Portage County, including heroin and marijuana.

Kaley agreed and said cocaine is still a popular drug.

“We see a lot of crack and crystal methamphetamine,” Kaley said. “You can attribute it to the fact that a lot of people can go on the net and get the recipe. A lot of the ingredients are household chemicals.”

But he said it is easier to halt the growth of meth use since the state passed restrictions on the sale of Sudafed, which can be used to make crystal meth.

The sheriff’s office, which has jurisdiction over the entire county, found that having a county-wide task force is more efficient.

“Drug dealers are mobile,” Kaley said. “They move around. We might have one busy month in Kent, the next month it’s Windham. Drug traffickers know no boundaries.”

With the recent drug bust at Humphrey Hall, Kent State police worked with the task force.

“We do the immediate securing of the scene, but they do the extended investigation,” said John Peach, Kent State police chief. Kent State is not officially part of the task force.

“After the downsizing of our department, we no longer had the ability to provide for an officer to join the task force,” Peach said. “However, we are still working with the agencies involved.”

He said the communication and cooperation between the Kent State police department and the task force couldn’t be better.

“We work on having a safe environment,” he said. “Our primary role is law enforcement. Many issues we handle ourselves.”

Peach said the university has no tolerance for illegal drugs on campus.

“If a student is found guilty, (he or she) will be kicked out,” he said.

However, Peach said if the suspect is willing to provide valuable information for catching some drug dealers around campus and in Portage County, they will refer them to the task force and in exchange for some or all of the charges to be dropped in court.

“It works pretty well,” he said. “People are sometimes desperate.”

R.P. Flynn, director of judicial affairs, said there have been 332 cases since the summer. Approximately 20 percent are drug related. Virtually all involved marijuana, he said.

“I don’t think Kent State has a big drug problem,” Flynn said. “I think it’s because we take care of it when the problem is still small.”

Peach said the department hasn’t seen an increase, but they need a couple of years to see a trend.

“Most of the armed robberies on campus have been drug related,” Peach said. “We don’t want an environment where it keeps building.”

Contact public affairs reporter Charlotte Muller at [email protected].

Contact public affairs reporter Tara Pringle at [email protected].