MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- Middletown police are joining the Butler Undercover Regional Narcotics Taskforce as part of their efforts against drug trafficking.
Police Chief Rodney Muterspaw wrote in a memo that Middletown is spending almost $1 million a year on drug crimes and calls. He noted that heroin was coming in from larger cities like Dayton and Cincinnati, greatly increasing the number of overdoses in Butler County.
The department has already been part of the Heroin Summit, added two K9s, increased staffing for special investigations, worked with the Ohio State Highway Patrol against drug trafficking on the interstate and participated in the Heroin Response Team, according to Muterspaw.
"But the fact is that the problem has gotten worse, not better," he wrote.
Joining the task force, also known by the acronym BURN, Middletown will get help in going after dealers who bring in drugs from other cities, according to Muterspaw. Participating in BURN will not cost the department's special investigations drug unit any staff.
"Regionalization is the key," Muterspaw wrote. "We have to change with the times."
In a Facebook post, Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones also praised the partnership.
"We all have a common goal, especially with the growing heroin epidemic," Jones wrote. "Working together will be very beneficial in reaching that goal."
