Proactive Policing yields more drugs, guns

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By Heather Ruppe

Large amounts of illegal drugs and guns have been removed from the streets of Colleton County, thanks to a continued proactive policing effort.

The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office is the county’s largest law enforcement agency. Throughout this year, the agency has been increasing their traffic patrol, especially in rural areas and in places where community residents are reporting concern.

Increasing the number of deputies on traffic patrol means that more motorists are cited for traffic violations. This also means that more illegal guns and weapons are seized, since they are mostly found during traffic stops, according to Shalane Tindal, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office.

Last week, deputies seized 40 Fentanyl pills, 21 illegal pills and eight grams of cocaine during one traffic stop. They also found a stolen gun in the driver’s car. All of this occurred when a deputy responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle that was parked for too long in a community park in Colleton County. (See related story in this issue).

“Proactive policing is law enforcement preventing crime before it takes place,” she said, in an earlier interview. “The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office initiates these efforts (traffic stops) to deter crime, reduce disorder, reduce citizen’s fear of crime, and remedy other areas of citizen concerns in specific areas in the Colleton,” she said.

Since this proactive policing effort started in January of 2022, deputies with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office have seized $23,171 in illegal drugs. They have also found 10 illegal guns.

The seized drugs include 28 grams of cocaine; 34 grams of meth; 391 grams of marijuana; 57 illegal narcotic pills; 225 Ecstasy pills; 23 grams of crack cocaine; and one gram of heroin. Officers also seized 39 grams of Fentanyl and 40 separate Fentanyl pills.

All of this was done in multiple busts throughout the year.

Tindal says these efforts will continue throughout the rest of 2022, as deputies plan to focus on all parts of Colleton County.