Justice

CHARLESTON — As Gov. Jim Justice hits the road again on behalf of former Republican President Donald Trump, the GOP U.S. Senate nominee criticized Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, over current border management policies and his asked how the election could be so close. .

Speaking during his weekly executive session at the State Capitol Building, Justice and state Department of Homeland Security officials announced the launch of Operation October Sky, a drug interdiction operation between 27 different agencies, including state Homeland Security officials , West Virginia State Police. , and local law enforcement.

“I am proud to announce the success of this operation,” Justice said. “We all know the terrible consequences we’ve all suffered (due to the drug crisis), and many significantly worse… But we can’t just focus on treatment. We certainly need treatment without a doubt, but we also need to do something about the drugs flowing across our state lines into West Virginia.”

According to the Justice Department, law enforcement officers seized 22 pounds of methamphetamine, half a pound of fentanyl along with fentanyl pills, heroin, cocaine and other illegal drugs. There were 70 felony arrests and 176 misdemeanor arrests. More than 30 firearms were seized, including 15 handguns and 14 rifles. More than $31,000 in drug money was seized.

Rob Cunningham, acting cabinet secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, said this is the second operation launched by the department in the past year, calling the operation “overwhelmingly successful.” Other partners in the operation included the West Virginia National Guard and the West Virginia Fusion Center.

“With everyone working together, we’ve really been able to put a little bit into this fight against illegal drugs,” Cunningham said. “This was a very large seizure of over 20 pounds of methamphetamine in this initiative. I want to thank all the police officers and management who made them participate. You have truly made a difference in what we are able to do to protect the people of West Virginia.”

“We put the information out there, and the overwhelming response from law enforcement in our state was an immediate response to the call to participate in this,” said Jack Luikart, director of the West Virginia Fusion Center, which works to identify possible criminal activity and provide information to state and local law enforcement. “Drug seizures are up significantly from previous years … West Virginia is not a source state, so the fentanyl was transported here at some point. These everyday efforts make a difference.”

Justice blamed continued fentanyl trafficking in the state on lax immigration enforcement along the southern U.S. border with Mexico, with fentanyl components coming from China and into Mexico through cartels. The justices blamed President Joe Biden and Harris, whom Biden put in charge of the southern border security strategy in 2021.