San Carlos training focuses on tribal lands and remote highways in Arizona
SAN CARLOS, Ariz. (LAWFUEL) – More than 80 patrol and narcotics officers from more than a two dozen tribal, state and local agencies attended training hosted by the San Carlos Apache Police Department in San Carlos. The training seminar was a product of an ongoing partnership by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Arizona High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Southwest Meth & Chemicals Initiative, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
U.S. Attorney Diane J. Humetewa said “Now more than ever we in law enforcement must take a coordinated approach to fighting the drug trafficking that has spread into our rural Arizona communities. This training is part of an on-going effort to build on the resources of tribal, state, federal and local police agencies to turn this trend around.” “I want to thank Chairman Wendsler Nosie, Sr. of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, for hosting this training and showing leadership on this important issue, as well as the many law enforcement agencies who took part.”
The goal of this training workshop is to empower agencies located in remote areas and tribal lands to address the trade in dangerous drugs such as methamphetamine known to transit Arizona highways in large quantities on their way to destinations throughout the United States. Another goal of the training workshop is to increase the coordination and information sharing among these agencies. The course provides information on federal and state drug laws, drug recognition, and domestic interdiction and K-9 use, traffic stops and search warrants. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and HIDTA Southwest Program organized similar training workshops last June in Holbrook and on the Colorado River Indian Tribes Reservation in Parker last August.
Chairman Wendsler Nosie, Sr., of the San Carlos Apache tribe, stated: “The dependency of drugs and substance abuse is an ongoing problem in our communities and the negative impact it has on our families is atrocious. We must not let up in our efforts to educate about the dangers of drugs, prevent the use of drugs and penalize those that are introducing drugs to our families and communities. I want to thank the Honorable Diane Humetewa, United States Attorney in Arizona, and Arizona HIDTA, who made this conference a reality.”
Terry Azbill, Director of the Arizona Region of the Southwest Border HIDTA, commented: “Through appropriate professional training for our officers across the state of Arizona, law enforcement can do its part in combating the drug problem, especially in rural Arizona. The Arizona HIDTA Region is delighted to participate in the training, so necessary to the drug problem in Arizona and across the United States.”
RELEASE NUMBER: 2008-331(San Carlos training)
