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Plymouth County DA Cruz and Sheriff McDonald Team Up with DEA for Training on Opioid Investigations



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Contact:  Beth Stone- (508) 584-8120

 PLYMOUTH – Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz, Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald Jr. and the U.S. Justice Department Drug Enforcement Administration will hold training for local and State Police and assistant district attorneys on best practices when conducting investigations involving opiates and substance use disorder.

The conference, “Diversion Trends/Methods and Investigating Opiate Overdoses” will be held Friday, April 29th with two sessions – one for local and State Police and the other for Assistant District Attorneys in the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office.

As part of law enforcement’s efforts to stem the tide of the opioid problem, DEA Special Agent Todd Prough will speak to his agency’s role and what investigators are seeing on the frontlines of the issue. Plymouth County ADA Joseph Janezik, chief of Gang and Community Prosecutions, will discuss the new Fentanyl legislation that took effect in February and methods aiding police in investigations aimed at targeting drug dealers and suppliers.

“Everyone knows someone struggling with opiate addiction and there is no telling where the bottom of this crisis is,” DA Cruz said. “This training is about law enforcement coming together to share information and best practices on how to proceed with investigations into fatal and non-fatal overdoses. Productive investigations lead to successful prosecutions of those who are peddling these deadly poisons into our communities.”

Plymouth County Sheriff McDonald Jr. said, “By identifying what measures have been effective, and replicating these successes in other communities, we stand a better chance of preventing deaths, or more directly, saving lives.”

“Those suffering from the disease of heroin addiction need access to treatment and recovery,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Ferguson. “But, those responsible for distributing lethal drugs like heroin and fentanyl to the citizens of Massachusetts need to beheld accountable for their actions. In response to the ongoing opioid epidemic, DEA and its federal, state and local partners are committed to bringing to justice those that distribute this poison.”

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April 28, 2016