Operation “Crystal Shield” targets meth traffickers

Just this week Westminster leaders expressed worry that stepped up efforts to catch drug traffickers who drive I-85 to points north will chase the criminals off the interstate to make their way from the major methamphetamine hub through small towns such as theirs. And their worry is heightened by the fact that small towns, such as Westminster, are thin in police personnel. In that regard the D-E-A, the federal government’s Drug Enforcement Administration, is out with the announcement of the start of Operation Crystal Shield. The operation will focus on the main hubs, such as Atlanta, from which the Mexican cartels are moving meth in bulk. According to the D-E-A, “While continuing to focus on stopping drugs being smuggled across the border, DEA’s Operation Crystal Shield will ramp up enforcement to block their further distribution into America’s neighborhoods.” And the term America’s neighborhoods is not lost on Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw and the county’s drug squad. Crenshaw says, “I welcome DEA’s commitment especially to the Atlanta area. Many of our investigations on illegal drugs take us down I-85 to Atlanta.