The Seward County drug interdiction task force is apprehending people with quantities of drugs not seen before, but seizing less cash than it did in previous years.
Seward County Sheriff Mike Vance spoke to the Seward County Independent last week after he had submitted an annual federal financial report on the task force affiliated with Homeland Security to the county commissioners on Aug. 27.
The program confiscates sometimes large amounts of cash from persons suspected of some role in drug trafficking, but have not yet been charged with any crime. In exchange for this civil forfeiture, the individuals are released without charges.
In recent months, he said they have had fewer cash stops and more drug arrests.
“Anybody that keeps track of it can see that over the years the amount of drugs coming through has grown enormously,” he said, noting arrests involving seizure of 100 pounds of methamphetamine and 150 pounds of cocaine.
Drug traffickers are using a range of methods to hide drugs in passenger vehicles, Vance said.
Four or five weeks ago, local law enforcement stopped a van in which a locked vault filled the area from behind the driver’s seat to the back door. It could be opened only with a hidden button, Vance said.
The law enforcement network shares such information and Vance said soon after that he heard of similar equipment being used in a handful of southern states.
Vance said the Seward County Homeland Security task force report he shared with the county commissioners reflects the portion of assets forfeited and the interlocal group’s share of a national pool that reimburses agencies for overtime and equipment for task force work.
Collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s added $753,099 from the “equitable sharing fund” to Seward County’s interlocal drug interdiction task force’s budget in the 12 months ending June 30.
The Seward County task force report indicates spending more than $1.09 million during the same 12 months and lists a fiscal year 2025 budget of $1.9 million.
The local collaboration includes the Nebraska State Patrol, Milford and Seward police departments and the Seward County Attorney’s office, as well as the sheriff’s department.
The funds are allocated by a board comprised of representatives from those agencies.
Vance said agencies in Saline, Lancaster, Deuel and Thayer counties are also part of the interdiction program but get allocations and file reports separately from the Seward County group.
Most of the funds coming to the Seward County group were for salaries, with $486,096 coming from treasury funds and nearly $14,000 from the justice funds, a total of $499,993.
Of that total, $391,513 was paid to “federal task force replacement officer,” which Vance said “backfills” funding for Seward County deputies, allowing other deputies to serve on the task force. Task force personnel cannot be paid with the forfeiture funds and Vance said this keeps deputies on Seward County roads.
The salaries also included $39,892 for a DARE/school resource officer and $68,587 for overtime payments.
Another $383,199 was spent on law enforcement equipment and $183,008 on law enforcement, public safety and detention facilities, according to the report.
Other expenditure categories and totals were: contracts for services, $17,710; training and education; $5,750; law enforcement travel and per diem, $3,826; drug, gang and other education or awareness programs, $3,250; law enforcement awards and memorials, $671; law enforcement operations and investigations, $658.
The Seward County program began the last fiscal year with $22,500 in justice funds and $732,173.04 in treasury funds, and as of June 30, had $23,655 and $386,052 on hand, respectively. It also reported $36,561 from sale proceeds which reflects the sale of surplus equipment that was originally seized or purchased through the interdiction program.
As noted on the report form, investigative agencies participating in the forfeiture program include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Defense Criminal Investigation Service, Diplomatic Security Service, and Food and Drug Administration. Treasury forfeiture participants include the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Boarder Protection, and the U.S. Secret Service.
Following Vance’s presentation, the commissioners approved an equitable sharing agreement and certification report for the sheriff’s office as required for continued participation in the program.
