The Blount County District Attorney’s Office is joining with other district attorneys and the TBI to form a cohesive effort against drug trafficking in Eastern Tennessee. Called the 313 Initiative, the program is a concerted effort to organize law enforcement against drugs being brought into the state from the north.
Blount County District Attorney Ryan Desmond said the initiative is named after the Detroit area code. The majority of heroin and fentanyl in Tennessee, he said, originate in Detroit. Organized drug rings produce or obtain their products in the north and then use interstates to quickly transport illicit substances to hubs across the nation.
Tennessee, he said, is uniquely situated to combat that traffic.
“We are at the intersection of two of the largest interstates in the country,” he said. “This is a criminal network of interstate proportions and Tennessee just happens to be where they intersect.”
To fight drug traffic in the state, Desmond is joining with the TBI as well as the district attorneys of the 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th Judicial Districts of Tennessee to share information gleaned from searches, seizures and other law enforcement activity. The hope is that by building a network of shared information, agencies will be able to better fight the network of criminal activity.
The initiative officially began Dec. 15 of last year, and has already resulted in the seizure of over $100,000. Law enforcement have also seized more than 41 pounds of methamphetamine and almost 7.5 pounds of fentanyl and heroin. Desmond hopes that’s only the beginning.
The people of Tennessee, he said, are tired of criminal activity from out of state.
“Enough is enough,” he said. “In every single county the overdose numbers are through the roof, the deaths are through the roof, the violent crime is going up. The number of people we catch who have all their ties in Detroit is up.”
By sharing information between agencies, Desmond said he hopes he can help other district attorneys that might not be as well-equipped as him. A search warrant that leads to the scan of a cellphone in Blount County could lead to an arrest in Knox County, he said.
The goal is to make the risks of entering Tennessee greater than the illegal benefits.
“The message we’re trying to send is that you might as well stop at the Kentucky border,” Desmond said.
A key way law enforcement plan to investigate, he said, is by building networks of contacts. Every time a cellphone is searched, officers will be able to see who an individual has contacted. Even if one of their contacts hasn’t been caught with drugs, law enforcement will still be able to be on the lookout for their activity.
The statewide FLOCK camera system will be useful, Desmond said. Officers can input a vehicle’s information and receive an alert whenever it is spotted, meaning they can be notified when suspected drug traffickers enter the state.
“Everywhere they go, law enforcement can be on the lookout for that person,” he said. “Just because you make it to another county doesn’t mean you’re going to be safe.”
Desmond feels he is particularly committed to preventing crime from entering the county. Blount Countians, he said, are welcoming people, but outsiders shouldn’t abuse that.
“We want this to stay the place we love, and I think the more you allow that kind of activity to happen the more that place goes away,” he said. “It’s been a very successful six weeks, and I anticipate it’s going to be even more successful in the future.”