LISBON — The fight against drugs in Columbiana County has gone hybrid, with the Columbiana County Drug Task Force hunting down dealers while also helping the addicted.

County DTF Director Detective Jesse Smith of the county Sheriff’s Office said “it’s truly a matter of supply and demand.”

Lessen the demand by getting drug addicts into treatment and reduce the supply by imprisoning the suppliers.

“We want to target every drug trafficker who works their way into Columbiana County and we want to provide assistance and resources to as many addicts in our county as possible,” he said.

Smith took over as director of the DTF a year ago after previously serving as a DTF agent. In a previous story about the DTF receiving a $135,000 RecoveryOhio grant in 2024, he said the DTF worked hard the last couple of years, taking part in peer support and participating in events such as Operation Bridge to help residents struggling with addiction to refer them to treatment.

He mentioned the Salem Police Department and how Salem has been such a fantastic participant the last few years, noting Chief J.T. Panezott and the officers, “everybody bought into the hybrid.”

He called Salem the success story.

“Salem’s success has allowed us to use them as a model for how we want to approach drugs throughout the entire county,” Smith said.

In 2024, the DTF on its own distributed 180 doses of Narcan, known as the overdose reversal drug, which is an increase over the previous year. The DTF RecoveryOhio efforts included offering treatment to 44 people, with a dozen accepting treatment.

That didn’t include the numbers for Operation Bridge on July 17 in Salem and July 18 in East Liverpool. The countywide stats for Operation Bridge included 110 Naloxone kits distributed, 114 fentanyl test strips distributed, 723 hygiene kits distributed, 88 feminine hygiene products distributed, four individuals connected to treatment, 46 adult protective services inquiries, 43 adult guardianship inquiries, 700 meals served and 4,734 points of contact made.

“We utilized peer support a number of times for drug interdiction operations and search warrants,” Smith said.

If DTF personnel encounter someone who would benefit from some help, they make a referral to the mobile crisis response team made up of DTF agents and peer support counselors.

That’s the kinder side of the drug fight. Now for the hunting down dealers part.

Smith added a statistic to the 2024 DTF overview report which he said demonstrates the success of the DTF agents. The Columbiana County Prosecutor’s Office closed 62 DTF cases in 2024 resulting in sentences totaling 147.5 years of incarceration.

“That shows not only are we making cases but we’re making winning cases. Our investigators are presenting cases that are thorough, detailed and accurate,” he said.

Smith added, “That speaks to the quality of work that our officers produce.”

He also credited the help of the public, encouraging residents to call the DTF at 330-424-0309 if they see or hear something related to drugs. He said they’ll be happy to take the information.

“Some of our biggest cases and biggest drug seizures were from members of the community calling and giving information,” he said.

Smith said the biggest increase in 2024 in terms of drugs seized was counterfeit pressed fentanyl pills, mostly coming from the southern border of the United States. He said the trend made its way here, explaining that it’s been a growing trend in the last year or so in the larger cities.

The county still has the usual suspects of drugs, such as cocaine and crack cocaine, with methamphetamine second in line behind fentanyl. Smith said the fentanyl pills have grown in popularity throughout the entire county. The amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, crack cocaine and psilocybin mushrooms seized all increased over the previous year.

Those totals for 2024 included 1,381 grams of fentanyl, including over 10,000 counterfeit fentanyl pills. Last year, the number of fentanyl pills was 1,184 and 203.5 grams of heroin/fentanyl.

The amount of methamphetamine increased to 968.5 grams in 2024 from 863 grams in 2023. The amount of crack cocaine more than doubled to 243 grams in 2024 from 112 grams in 2023. The amount of cocaine decreased to 244.5 grams in 2024 from 833.5 grams in 2023. The amount of psilocybin mushrooms increased to 766.5 grams in 2024 from 111 grams in 2023. Hashish decreased to 28 grams in 2024 from 41 grams of hashish solids and 48 grams of hashish liquids in 2023.

In 2024, the report included two unit doses of LSD, while the 2023 report included 2 grams of ecstasy. There were also a number of miscellaneous illegal proscription drugs seized, such as Suboxone, Xanax and Methadone in 2024.

Other seizures included 18 firearms and $44,262 cash in 2024. In 2023, the numbers were 35 firearms and $38,114 cash.

In 2024, the DTF spent $9,305 (about $3,000 less than the previous year), but removed an estimated $219,060 worth of drugs from Columbiana County, not including pharmaceuticals collected. In 2023, the DTF removed $205,080 worth of drugs.

Overall cases decreased to 228 in 2024 from 258 in 2023. There were 138 indictments, a decrease from 143 in 2023. In 2023, there were 108 search warrants and consent searches. In 2024, there were 30 residential search warrants, 15 residential consent searches, and 35 digital search warrants/consent searches. There were 25 assists of equipment/manpower to other agencies (41 in 2023) and 19 drug awareness presentations (20 in 2023).

Smith explained the reduced number of cases due to less manpower. The number had been at eight agents, but now it’s down to six after losing one from Perry Township and one from St. Clair Township.

The breakdown of agents from area police agencies includes five full-time, with two from the sheriff’s office, one from East Liverpool, one from Lisbon and one from Salem, and one part-time from Columbiana. Smith is included in the number of full-timers. He said the DTF was in discussions with a couple other agencies that want to send part-time officers.

Smith said the DTF is in discussions with the Adult Parole Authority about sending a part-time agent to serve with the DTF. He said there’s also discussions with the Ohio National Guard to send a full-time intelligence analyst to serve with the DTF.

The DTF gained a full-time agent from the East Liverpool Police Department a year ago after having no representation for several years, leading to several searches in East Liverpool.

“That was an area that just desperately needed attention,” Smith said.

The DTF was all over the county last year, including in Salem, East Liverpool, Wellsville and Salineville.

Smith also said the DTF worked with the Ohio State Highway Patrol Lisbon post a lot this past year, with the patrol allowing the DTF to take over a lot of the high weight drug seizures. Many were targets the DTF was already investigating.

To contact the DTF, call 330-424-0309. The email is taskforce@ccclerk.org.

mgreier@mojonews.com