County benefits from interdiction

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It’s been almost three years since a federal drug task force was created in Seward County.

Since January 2019, the group has confiscated hundreds of pounds of drugs, seized millions of dollars in drug money and become the top interdiction task force in the country.

“We target criminals in transit,” Seward County Sheriff Mike Vance said.

The eight-member task force includes five K9 units and two retired Nebraska State Patrol officers. All the officers have federal credentials, Vance said.

The task force is self-funded, he said, which means the money and goods it seizes go to help pay for it.

Its building northwest of Milford was purchased with drug money, but it is a county building. The task force has used it for about a  year and a half, Vance said.

The K9 units used by the task for were paid for with drug forfeiture money. Food for the animals is donated by Nestle/Purina in Crete.

All the patrol cars and their gas are paid for through drug money, Vance said.

“There’s a lot we save the county by doing interdiction,” he said.

Vance said most major criminal networks transport from Point A to Point B, and the biggest risk of contact is during travel.

“They are most vulnerable in transit,” Vance said.

Strategies include trying to blend in and avoid law enforcement. If they’re stopped, they’ll try to convince the officer they’re part of the innocent public, which includes relating bogus stories, Vance said.

They’ll also deny knowledge of any unlawful goods in their vehicles.

Task force members use a variety of tactics to apprehend criminals, Vance said. Most of them don’t have previous criminal records, so the task force learns to recognize behaviors that may indicate illegal behavior.

Some vehicles have business, patriotic or religious items on display. Jesus Malverde, the patron saint of smugglers, is one of the most common items. Santa Muerte, the patron saint of death, is another.

“Each stop is on its own merit,” Vance said. “You look at the totality of the circumstances.”

Law enforcement officers know what to expect from a normal stop. They bring the vehicle’s driver to the police car and watch for physical reactions a person can’t control.

Sometimes, the person volunteers more information than necessary. If two or more are traveling together, their stories may not match.

“Then you put it all together,” Vance said.

The task force has technology at its disposal, as well, with programs like Carfax for police and Cellebrite.

Officers will look for contraband in the person’s personal items or in voids in the vehicle. Recent tool marks may also indicate a hiding place.

Seward was in the Omaha district for Homeland Security, Vance said. On major stops, Homeland Security Investigations may come to try to determine those in charge of the drugs.

Seward has a counter to count any money recovered in a drug stop. Vance said the counter takes pictures of both sides of each bill. The money is not moved from its location until three officers, one of whom is a supervisor, can be there.

On a $2 million seizure, Vance said, Seward borrowed another machine, and the two machines took four hours to count the money, which came from an Irish gang.

Seward County has no problem holding federal prisoners, and Saline County is precertified to do so, Vance said. Immigration and Customs Enforcement asked if Seward County would house its detainees, and Vance said no because at the time Seward County had no bilingual law enforcement officials.

When it comes to asset forfeiture, if federal officials are the lead, the county gets 80%. If it’s a joint seizure, the county gets 70%. At the state level, money is split 50-50 between the county’s drug board and the Nebraska Department of Education.

“I would like to see that change to benefit the schools in the jurisdiction where it was seized,” Vance said.