ISP wraps up Silver Valley enforcement emphasis
The bulk of illegal substances seized in the Silver Valley during the three-day enforcement emphasis. From the left, the four large marijuana seizures are displayed measuring out to approximately nine and a half pounds, 12 pounds, 42 pounds, and 3 and half pounds, respectively. On the far end, the approximately two ounces of cocaine and two ounces methamphetamine (with syringes) are included in addition to a smaller amount of marijuana in the colored containers. Photo by CHANSE WATSON
A closer look at the seized methamphetamine with used syringes.
The seized cocaine can be seen atop of one of the larger marijuana busts.
ISP troopers, with the help of a Bonner County Sheriff’s K9, pull over and search a Uhaul just west of Kingston on I-90 during the first day of the emphasis.
COEUR d’ALENE — With the arrival of the Fall season, many things can be expected by Silver Valley residents.
We know that many of us will coincidentally be sick from work on the first day of rifle hunting season (Oct. 10 FYI).
We know that with snow already on the top of our local ski resorts, it’s time to start thinking about putting those snow tires on our vehicles.
And we also know that Idaho State Police (ISP) will be setting up in our area for an annual enforcement emphasis on Interstate 90 (I-90).
Anyone who drove on I-90 last week can certainly attest that the latter has occurred.
From Sept. 26 to 28, over 20 ISP troopers from across the state worked in collaboration with local agencies to keep a sharp eye on the traffic going through Shoshone County.
During this three day operation, ISP reported that “troopers issued 79 misdemeanor drug citations, arrested 15 people for felony drug offenses including five people for trafficking in marijuana, two people for trafficking in cocaine, one person for trafficking in heroin, and one for trafficking in methamphetamines.”
In addition to the arrests, troopers seized close to 70 pounds of marijuana (a vast majority of it coming from four large busts), approximately two ounces of cocaine, two ounces of methamphetamine, and several smaller quantities of heroin.
ISP utilized several drug detection K9’s from their agency, as well as from the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office and the Coeur d’Alene Police Department, to assist them in locating illegal substances in the vehicles they stopped.
The emphasis also yielded five arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs (two of them during the day) and three for outstanding warrants.
Although Troopers were able to take a small bite of drug crime with several arrests and seizures, ISP Sgt. Blake Hibley out of the Idaho Falls (District 6) office said that this was not the only reason for the emphasis.
“The biggest thing is public safety in any way, shape or form,” Hibley stressed.
“A big message is to get people to slow down, drive safe, and if we can take some drug out of communities- that’s a bonus.”
With Fall already here and Winter on the way, it is incredibly important that people driving in our area do so with caution.
“As Idahoans, we hope that we are good drivers in bad weather,” Hibley explained, “but you can’t say the same thing (for those who are not from here).”
“There’s a lot of east coast traffic and maybe they aren’t familiar with driving in those conditions,” he added.
With the remoteness of our region, wildlife and poor road conditions (whether it be weather or road status related) are something North Idahoans must deal with.
Hibley said that emphasises like these help “change that mindset to be ready for fall and winter.”
Overall, ISP and Hibley believe that the Silver Valley I-90 emphasis was “definitely successful” and “definitely productive.”
It also helped that when troopers stopped in the community to get gas or grab a bite, they were (for the most part) warmly greeted by residents.
“It was nice to be in a different community and have that support,” Hibley said.
These annual emphasises that occur all over that state products of the Domestic Highway Enforcement Initiative (DHEI).
According to the Information Sharing Environment (ISE, an office of the government that “leverages information sharing capabilities to focus on terrorism-related information sharing, homeland security, and counter proliferation of weapons of mass destruction missions.”), the DHEI was created to “promotes collaborative, intelligence-led, unbiased policing in coordinated and mutually supportive multi-jurisdictional law enforcement efforts on the nation’s highways.”
The locations of these emphasises in the state are chosen based on the volume of traffic that passes through an area.
ISP would like to express their gratitude to the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) and Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for their assistance and support during the operation.
Holly Lindsey, SCSO Undersheriff, said that “working closely with other law enforcement entities is an important part of Sheriff Gunderson’s vision for the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office.”
She added that, “we look forward to working with the Idaho State Police and appreciate their attention to fighting crime in Shoshone County.”