The Pinal County Narcotics Task Force recently added another agency to its force.
An investigator from Apache Junction Police Department officially joined the PCNTF Sunday, July 27th. The task force, led by the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, also includes; Florence, Eloy and Coolidge police departments. The Casa Grande Police Department plans to add a detective to the PCNTF in late 2008.
The mission of the PCNTF is the investigation, prosecution, disruption and dismantling of individuals and/or groups involved in the possession, sales, manufacturing, cultivating, trafficking and smuggling of illegal drugs in or through Pinal County and surrounding areas. In 2007, the PCNTF made 104 arrests, investigated 220 cases, and seized about 378 grams of cocaine, 18,319 pounds of marijuana and 730 grams of methamphetamine.
The PCNTF is a multi-agency task force comprised of a sergeant, corporal, six investigators and an administrative secretary. The force also has members of Arizona Department of Public Safety District 6 Narcotics Unit and the Drug Enforcement Administration assigned under the PCNTF High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Initiative (HIDTA).
The PCNTF is funded by HIDTA, ACJC/Byrne Grant, COPS Methamphetamine Grant, Marijuana Eradication Grant and the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.