– Methamphetamine seizures in the Buckeye State are on pace to quadruple in 2018 following a record year in 2017, Ohio Highway Patrol data indicates.

“Methamphetamine will eventually eclipse heroin as the most common drug in Ohio,” said Lt. Rob Sellers of the patrol. “There’s a serious problem — it’s going to wreck people’s lives.”

Through the first half of 2018, troopers have seized more than 300 pounds of meth. In all of 2017, they found 145 pounds. That amount was 94 pounds in 2016 and only seven pounds in 2015.

“Methamphetamine is so highly available in Ohio that if you’re a drug user, your dealer has it,” Sellers said.

Almost all of the meth in Ohio comes from drug cartels in Mexico, Sellers said. Since the cartels are now creating nearly pure meth and selling it at all-time low prices, fewer drug users in the United States are making their own. Troopers have learned that most traffickers are even giving drug dealers samples of meth to pass along to drug users for free.

A trooper in Hamilton County stopped a vehicle in March to find 107 pounds of meth, the largest such seizure in the patrol’s history. Sellers said it wasn’t long ago that finding just a couple pounds of meth was considered a very large seizure.

“This is off the charts,” Sellers said.

Finding drugs while they’re still on the freeway, before they make it to communities, is the goal of every trooper. They stop a lot of vehicles, keep an eye open for abnormalities in vehicles and call drug-sniffing dogs when possible. Since 2011, troopers have take more than $421 million of drugs and contraband off Ohio’s roads.

Lt. Larry Firmi, who runs the criminal patrol unit at the patrol’s Bucyrus post, said troopers often find secret compartments in cars, trucks and even trailers. Troopers have noticed the cartels are now pressing meth into pills and disguising it as other drugs, not only to elude law enforcement, but also to make users feel like they’re using a less serious drug.

Sellers said those who use the drug are more likely to become violent than someone who has taken heroin.

“They get strung out,” Sellers said. “If they haven’t slept in 72 hours and all they’ve done is take meth, they’re not making coherent decisions. Their mind is in a different place.”

Sellers said it only takes one dose of meth to become addicted to the drug.

Anyone travelling the roads can help law enforcement crack down on meth traffickers. Sellers said dialing #677 will connect drivers to either a local dispatcher, or someone in the patrol’s state headquarters.

“You can be the eyes and ears of the community,” Sellers said.

Troopers are concerned the problem will only grow as the cartels expand, getting more and more drug users hooked on methamphetamine.

“There are cartel members in every major and secondary city in Ohio,” Firmi said. “These are sophisticated organizations.”*********************1776

The Sinaloa drug cartel, once run by one of the most wanted men in the world, El Chapo, has made its way to Northeast Ohio. It’s a drug-trafficking ring moving large amounts of drugs from Mexico onto the streets.

“I don’t think people understand how significant and embedded it is in Northeast Ohio,” said Keith Martin, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Cleveland’s Drug Enforcement Administration.  Authorities recently found a stash house in a Maple Heights neighborhood and another on Cleveland’s west side.

A three-year long DEA investigation, dubbed “Operation Loaded Deck,” focused on taking down the local arm of the notorious Sinaloa cartel.

During the investigation, authorities seized large quantities of heroin, cocaine and fentanyl, some of which were concealed in hidden compartments in cars. The drugs were moved across the U.S.-Mexican border and transported in these cars outfitted with secret traps.

Just as astonishing, Cartel members were hiding in plain sight the whole time, even taking in a Cavaliers game — courtside.

“These aren’t street-level dealers, they were dealing in massive quantities and, in return, huge amounts of cash,” Herdman said.

By the end of the investigation, 29 kilos of cocaine, eight kilos of heroin, a kilo of fentanyl and four pounds of marijuana were seized, along with nearly $350,000, guns, vehicles and dozens of cell phones.

Operation Loaded Deck ended with 19 people sent to federal prison for their roles in the drug trafficking organization.

*********************1776

The Ohio Highway Patrol said the agency is seizing an increasing amount of methamphetamine and said 90 percent of the drug comes directly from Mexican cartels.

In February, troopers made a traffic stop on Interstate 70 in Madison County and recovered 10 pounds of cartel meth worth $100,000.

“It’s pure. It’s extremely highly potent. It’s often referred to as ice because it’s so clear,” said Sgt. Tiffany Meeks. “Ohio is a target because we are at crossroads of major interstates that lead to metropolitan areas.”

Ohio State Highway Patrol

In 2013, the highway patrol seized 24 pounds of methamphetamine. By 2016, that number climbed to 94 pounds and spiked again to 145 in 2017. That’s a 55 percent increase.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports nationwide in 2015, nearly 6,000 people died from stimulant use, mostly meth. It’s a 255 percent increase from 2005.

he drug is flowing across the border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection estimates in the past five years, meth seizures have tripled.

The Ohio Highway Patrol said the cartels operate like a business and are always looking for new routes to transport drugs and make as much money as possible.

“Our job is to make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Sgt. Meeks. “We’re out there to make a difference, and make sure those drugs don’t destroy lives.”