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Police HEAT Unit Turns Up Heat On Drug Traffickers
Unit Uses High-Tech, Aggressive Methods To Fight War On Drugs
POSTED: 6:25 pm EDT July 6, 2005
UPDATED: 7:01 pm EDT July 6, 2005
BALTIMORE -- Police are turning up the heat on drug traffickers traveling through Maryland.
MdTA Police recover more than $300,000 in a drug bust using a specialized 'HEAT' unit.
WBAL-TV 11 News reporter David Collins reported the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Department's new crime-fighting unit, called the Homeland Enforcement and Traffic (HEAT) Unit, has netted significant results.
Since 2002, the HEAT Unit has doubled the number of drugs uncovered in vehicles during traffic stops and three times as many guns.
Collins reported 14 highly-trained officers comprise the unit, along with 15 drug and explosive sniffing dogs. The unit employs the use of state-of-the-art technology in a numbers strategy to compete in a high stakes game of hide and seek of sorts.
"The more contacts we are able to make, ultimately the more seizures we are able to make," MdTA Police Sgt. Kevin Anderson said.
Collins said the department's aggressive traffic enforcement along Maryland's bridges, tunnels and highways has chalked up huge victories in the war on drugs.
"We've been able to seize several kilos of cocaine, several pounds of marijuana, several firearms," Anderson said.
In one van alone, the unit discovered more than $363,000 in cash in addition to handguns, Ecstasy and marijuana -- much of it stashed in a hidden compartment.
Video
David Collins Reports: HEAT Unit Uses High-Tech To Fight Crime
According to police, the Interstate 95 corridor has turned into the drug route of choice between New York and Miami since the enhancement of airport security after Sept. 11, 2001.
In response, the HEAT Unit hopes to make Baltimore a choke point along I-95. Drug money confiscated by the HEAT Unit has paid for fast cars used in the department's operation. The vehicles, including Ford Mustangs, are equipped with a built-in video camera to record each traffic stop.
HEAT Unit vehicles also come equipped with a computer that interfaces with other law enforcement agencies, including the Pentagon. As a result, Collins said officers no longer have to radio information to a dispatcher. Instead, they can punch it up themselves online in a matter of seconds.
"It gives us the ability to run timely information on vehicle registration, driver's licenses (and) wanted checks," Anderson said.
Collins said the HEAT Unit is a product of its own success. According to state officials, other local police departments are now looking at the heat team as a model for their jurisdictions.
http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/4691371/detail.html?subid=22100764&qs=1;bp=t
Police HEAT Unit Turns Up Heat On Drug Traffickers
Unit Uses High-Tech, Aggressive Methods To Fight War On Drugs
POSTED: 6:25 pm EDT July 6, 2005
UPDATED: 7:01 pm EDT July 6, 2005
BALTIMORE -- Police are turning up the heat on drug traffickers traveling through Maryland.
MdTA Police recover more than $300,000 in a drug bust using a specialized 'HEAT' unit.
WBAL-TV 11 News reporter David Collins reported the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Department's new crime-fighting unit, called the Homeland Enforcement and Traffic (HEAT) Unit, has netted significant results.
Since 2002, the HEAT Unit has doubled the number of drugs uncovered in vehicles during traffic stops and three times as many guns.
Collins reported 14 highly-trained officers comprise the unit, along with 15 drug and explosive sniffing dogs. The unit employs the use of state-of-the-art technology in a numbers strategy to compete in a high stakes game of hide and seek of sorts.
"The more contacts we are able to make, ultimately the more seizures we are able to make," MdTA Police Sgt. Kevin Anderson said.
Collins said the department's aggressive traffic enforcement along Maryland's bridges, tunnels and highways has chalked up huge victories in the war on drugs.
"We've been able to seize several kilos of cocaine, several pounds of marijuana, several firearms," Anderson said.
In one van alone, the unit discovered more than $363,000 in cash in addition to handguns, Ecstasy and marijuana -- much of it stashed in a hidden compartment.
Video
David Collins Reports: HEAT Unit Uses High-Tech To Fight Crime
According to police, the Interstate 95 corridor has turned into the drug route of choice between New York and Miami since the enhancement of airport security after Sept. 11, 2001.
In response, the HEAT Unit hopes to make Baltimore a choke point along I-95. Drug money confiscated by the HEAT Unit has paid for fast cars used in the department's operation. The vehicles, including Ford Mustangs, are equipped with a built-in video camera to record each traffic stop.
HEAT Unit vehicles also come equipped with a computer that interfaces with other law enforcement agencies, including the Pentagon. As a result, Collins said officers no longer have to radio information to a dispatcher. Instead, they can punch it up themselves online in a matter of seconds.
"It gives us the ability to run timely information on vehicle registration, driver's licenses (and) wanted checks," Anderson said.
Collins said the HEAT Unit is a product of its own success. According to state officials, other local police departments are now looking at the heat team as a model for their jurisdictions.
http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/4691371/detail.html?subid=22100764&qs=1;bp=t