CAPITO ANNOUNCES OVER $26 MILLION TO SUPPORT EFFORTS TO DISRUPT DRUG TRAFFICKING IN WEST VIRGINIA

Press Release

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, today announced a total of $26,484,023 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 funds for High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Programs in West Virginia through the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). The HIDTA program supports Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States.

"HIDTA funding provides local, state, and community leaders in designated counties with the tools and resources necessary to fight the drug crisis in West Virginia. As a leader on the Senate Appropriations Committee, I've worked hard to secure these funds, and I will continue working with Director Gupta, others in the administration, and those on the frontlines at home to finally put an end to this epidemic that has hurt so many across our state," Ranking Member Capito said.

Each year, HIDTAs assess the drug threats in their communities and develop strategies to address those threats and advance public health and public safety. In 2022, HIDTAs across the nation successfully disrupted and dismantled more than 3,000 drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and seized illicit drugs with a wholesale value of more than $22 billion, including more than 13,000 kilograms and more than 44 million dosage units of fentanyl.

Individual funding allocations listed below:

· $16,487,073 -- Washington/Baltimore HIDTA

· $9,996,950 -- Appalachia HIDTA

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