FARMERSBURG, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Zachary Myers, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana was in Terre Haute on Monday to talk about initiatives that matter right here in the Wabash Valley.
Myers says a big focus for the area is to address violent crime and drug trafficking.
“No area is immune, particularly as there are places where gun violence has up ticked as well as the trafficking of not just methamphetamine, which there’s still way too much of, but fentanyl which is causing increasing numbers of overdose death,” Myers said.
Myers says they’re working with local law enforcement and federal partners to find the people responsible for some of the more significant incidents and holding those people accountable.
“Unfortunately, the drug cartels who are responsible for the vast majority of the fentanyl and methamphetamine coming into our communities, they don’t care about you,” he said. “They don’t care about your safety and they’re not testing drugs like you know, Eli Lilly or some other company might. And instead, they’re putting these fake pills on the street.”
Myers said these pills aren’t always what they seem.
“It might look just like a real pharmaceutical, but it’s actually something that could kill you, with just two milligrams,” Myers said.
While in town, he’s spending time with local law enforcement leaders talking about the high intensity drug trafficking task force because he said, “In every community it takes local law enforcement working with our state and federal partners to do everything we can in our local communities.”
Myers said Vigo County is one of the most recent counties to get approved by the Office of Drug Control Policy.
“To stand up one of these task forces to have additional funding and resources to bring all of these levels of law enforcement together,” Myers said. “We’re expanding our physical facilities over at the Terre Haute Police Department to ensure that we have the connections, and we have the technology to do some of these more complex long-term investigations.”
Myers said another concern for Wabash Valley families is child exploitation. His office is working with local officials to help keeps kids safe, including on the internet.
Another issue, Myers said they’re hearing from families, is fighting child exploitation. Myers said there are places you might think are safe for children that turn out to be anything but.
“Unfortunately, anywhere where children gather, the bad guys can gather too,” Myers said. “So, it’s just really important to talk to all of your children and make sure that they understand that if something happens that makes them uncomfortable, that they’re concerned about, somebody’s sending them inappropriate messages or pictures, that they have a trusted adult that they can come forward to. And you can bring that to the attention of law enforcement.”
