From the Aberdeen Police Department:
Over the past several years, the Aberdeen Police Department’s Special Operations Unit has evolved from a uniformed interdiction unit into a covert narcotics investigation unit. Special Operations Unit consists of several detectives who have extensive training in the detection, recognition, and trends of controlled dangerous substances.
Additionally, all members of the Special Operations Unit work closely with other local law enforcement agencies, including the Havre De Grace Police Department, Harford County Sheriff’s Office, and the Maryland State Police. The Aberdeen Police Department has a long history of cooperating with municipal police departments in the area. Currently, Special Operations Unit operates as a force multiplier that is available to respond to community hot spots, reports of drug trafficking complaints within the local community, and receive and disseminate intelligence related to criminal activity occurring both locally and outside their jurisdiction.
The Special Operations Unit has been involved in hundreds of drug investigations that have yielded large amounts of controlled dangerous substances, firearms, and seized US currency.
Since 2011 the Aberdeen Police Department has seized the following:
• Over 30 pounds of marijuana
• Over $90,000 in US currency
• Multiple seized vehicles
• Over 120 arrests for various criminal drug offenses
• Over 20 seized firearms
• Executed over 50 search and seizure warrants related to criminal activities in Aberdeen
The plan of the Special Operations Unit involves targeting those individuals who choose to engage in the use and sales of controlled dangerous substances. This involves disrupting whatever means those individuals use to facilitate their illegal trade by using a proactive style policing approach.
Nice job ladies and gentlemen.
“Special Operations Unit consists of several detectives who have extensive training in the detection, recognition, and trends of controlled dangerous substances.”
Marijuana, a dangerous substance. What a waste of resources. What are cops and prisons going to do when weed is legalized?
100’s of investigations netted 30 lbs of pot removed from the streets?
How much taxpayer money does this task force require every year for this sort of results?
A waste indeed. Alcohol is unarguably more dangerous to the public, and harmful to those who use it and yet we have a Constitutional amendment allowing for its consumption. Meanwhile we ban a substance that has yet to be linked to a single smoking-related death or overdose, and has not been conclusively linked to lung disease, cancer, or (the biggest myth of all) neurological damage. Instead they cling to their ignorant Puritanical beliefs and a debunked, unethical study conducted decades ago, all for the sake of easy arrests and the profit of the commercial prison industry.
I agree that it seems a waste of time but I was curious about the numbers. Since I don’t use the stuff myself, I had to google to find out how much pot is in one joint; 3/4 gram seems to be the consensus. 30 pounds is 13,608 grams, which would make 18,144 joints. Seems like a lot more stated that way.
About the same collective amount the students of any high school possess on any given day
Pavel314 – Don’t you think that the amounts confiscated also show how prevalent the “POT” use is in Aberdeen? The great irony of marijuana is that it is illegal, yet 50% of the population use it. Those 18,144 joints that you are referring to is just a drop in the bucket of what is used everyday. Considering the fact that the police confiscated probably less than 1% of the actual marijuana used since 2011 in Aberdeen, I’m not convinced that this Special Operations Unit can be proclaimed a success. If you calculate the cost of police salaries, police vehicles, informant pay, etc. compared to what was taken in, the SOU could be considered a failure if not a complete disaster. Now, if you consider that over half, I repeat, over half of these arrests and confiscations were due to illegal dog sniffs on residences, it would seem that not only have they been ineffective, but have been unlawful in their conduct. It does not matter that the interpretations of law in Maryland courts have changed as infringements on the 4th Amendment are considered to be an attack on a fundamental constitutional right. The repercussions and remedies that are sure to follow will be costly and embarrassing. Don’t spend that $90,000 too quickly, it may be needed in settlements.
Thank goodness that horrible marijuana is off the streets and those evil, evil people locked up. Just the other day my neighbor and I were discussing how scary the 1-block trip to the 7-11 had become. I used to be able to send my children there without fear but now I worry what might happen when they reach the 7-11 and discover that there are no more Doritos thanks to some hop-head with the munchies.
Well Done Aberdeen Police Department!…. Currently Marijuana is Illegal under Maryland Law. Steve, regardless of how low on the food chain Marijuana is, in your opinion its still, lets say it all together…..ILLEGAL. Inevitably, when it becomes legal in Maryland, the cops won’t arrest people anymore for it, nor send them to prison….just a thought, and the answer to your ?
Oral sex is illegal in Maryland too. What’s your point?
Cuff ’em Danno.
Don’t tell that to all the cork suckers in the detention center.
That changed in 1999 when the Sodomy Laws were struck down in Maryland. Oral sex is legal but I do understand your point.
Freedom means owning your body, period. Free men can do stupid and dangerous things like smoking cigarettes and weed, drinking bourbon, eating trash carbohydrates, and gulping down double cheeseburgers with bacon and mushrooms.
Are these things all good for you? Absolutely not. Is the option to consume them a measure of liberty? Hell, yeah it is.
Drug laws are generally bogus because they try to control behavior of two willing parties and no victim. We can’t even keep drugs out of prisons for crying out loud!
Oh, and before the bath salts and spice topics come up, it’s you’re own damn fault if you insist in poking a stick in your eye. Freedom is scary, but it’s better then tyranny.
Great job APD. Amazing what you can accomplish when you have a leader who stands behind you and you are able to do your job.
It is very obvious that some of the people who post have never fell victim YET to a drug user or seller. When one of the drug users or sellers can’t buy his or her pot, they beg, steal, or even rob. How about a POSITIVE comment about the police officers striving every day to keep the environment safe. Never mind, you wouldn’t be making a honest positive and genuine comment so don’t bother.
Independent says: “When one of the drug users or sellers can’t buy his or her pot, they beg, steal, or even rob.”
Wow! That’s quite a statement there buddy! Apparently, you’ve never smoked weed.
His Mom told him everything he ever learned about smoking the pot…
INDEPENDENT – Seriously, do you believe what your typing or just joking?
Great job Aberdeen Police. It is illegal to possess or distribute illegal drugs. They are highly addictive and can lead to more potentially harmful drugs and addictions. The price to society, our young and safety means that getting them off the street is always good news.