By HEATHER RUPPE
Illegal guns, drugs, and cash have been seized throughout 2021 and are still ongoing as part of a proactive police plan done by the Colleton County Sheriff's Office.
In 2021, the Sheriff's Office seized more than $200,000 in drugs through these proactive policing efforts. Additionally, Colleton County deputies seized 32 illegal guns and a total of $204,008 in illegal drugs. Most of the guns and drugs were seized during traffic stops and from search warrants of private residences. "Our deputies are committed to taking these harmful drugs off the street,” said Colleton County Sheriff Buddy Hill.
The proactive policing tactic started in 2019.
"We're continuing to make a dent in the drug trafficking taking place in our community," said Shalane Lowes, spokeswoman for the Colleton County Sheriff's Office. "Deputies initiate traffic stops on their own due to traffic infractions, which leads to other charges," she said in a prior interview.
The Sheriff's Office also does monthly updates to the public on these proactive patrols, which Lowes says are conducted throughout the county.
"The Colleton Sheriff's Office wants our citizens to know that our deputies are visible and working hard to combat drugs and crime," said Hill. These proactive policing efforts are ongoing and will continue throughout 2022.
