By HEATHER RUPPE
For the last year-and-a-half, officers in Cottageville have been quietly tackling a large meth problem in the small town.
During this year-plus crack down, Cottageville police officers have made approximately 42 arrests. Each of these arrests have been for possession with intent to distribute or for possession of a drug. Each of these arrests also have been for methamphetamines, heroin or Fentanyl.
The 42 arrests do not include any other drug arrests made in Cottageville for marijuana, cocaine, crack or other illegal drugs.
Of the 42 arrests, those who have been taken into custody have mostly been local suspects, with about 75 percent of the suspects being Colleton County residents, according to Cottageville Police Chief Jeffery Cook. These arrests are being made while the suspects are “passing through” Cottageville, headed to and from other parts of the Tri-County (Berkeley, Dorchester and Charleston counties) and the Lowcountry.
However, some of the suspects are actual Cottageville residents, he said.
“They’re coming through here with their drugs, and we’ve been focused on catching them,” said Cook.
One such suspect who has been arrested and charged with trafficking meth in Cottageville is Douglas E. Brett, a 58-year-old Colleton man who was caught by Cottageville cops on Dec. 30, 2020. According to a Cottageville Police Department incident report, an officer found Brett in his vehicle, which was parked near Bama Road. When officers approached the car, they found Brett watching pornography and masturbating. However, officers discovered more than 21 grams of meth inside his vehicle, the report states.
According to Cook, these type of larger-quantity drug busts are routine in Cottageville. While working on this story with the Cottageville Police Department, this newspaper reviewed dozens of arrest warrants and incident reports, all where large quantities of drugs, mostly meth, were seized by local officers in the Town of Cottageville. Some reports indicate that suspects already needled loaded with heroin and ready to use once they were sold or distributed. Other reports state that officers were also able to seize guns during these drug arrests.
Additionally, the Cottageville Police Department has also been working with local and state law enforcement agencies to help put a dent into the community’s drug problem. From these efforts, Cook says he has not only seen drug arrests rise, but he has seen property crimes decrease in Cottageville.
“The people we are busting are also the ones who are doing the stealing in our community. Instead of paying with money for buying their dope, they are paying with stolen property,” said Cook.
According to Cook, his officers are seeing the circle of drug-making, drug use and drug-selling being interrupted in the community by making these arrests. “It’s a plague,” Cook said. “Good, honest people who make a mistake and smoke meth for the first time in their life, they look like a walking zombie in three months. It is very dangerous.
“We are never going to stop the drug flow entirely, but we have not turned a blind eye to it. We are making a difference.”
The Cottageville Police Department consists of six full-time officers and four reserve officers. Three of these six full-time officers have been mostly working the night shift, a time when Cook says most of these drug’s arrests are made. “They are vigilant and they are making a difference,” he said.
Because the majority of these cases are still ongoing, Cook will not release the names of those arrested in the recent drug busts. “We are still working these cases to lead us to more,” he said.
While working these ongoing cases, Cook is also quick to give praise to the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office, the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the DEA. Each of these agencies have helped the town’s police department in making some of these drug arrests, and in working the ongoing drug investigations, he said.
“The main agency that is assisting us is the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Buddy Hill is a strong wind of fresh air. He is working with us and his deputies are working with us and this is how it is supposed to be done.”
Cook said the “majority” of the meth and Fentanyl being seen in the Cottageville community are from the Mexican drug cartel market. Fentanyl is a synthetic pain killer. He said it is being mixed with meth or heroin to make it more powerful. “It’s so dangerous to us, because it can’t even touch your skin,” he said. “These drugs are everywhere. They aren’t just on street corners anymore,” he said.
