Following a July 6 White House announcement of nine counties being added to the nationwide High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin confirmed the benefits of participation.

The HIDTA Liberty Mid-Atlantic region will provide benefits in investigative case support, information sharing and specialized training opportunities to help target the influx of drug activity entering the region from New York and New Jersey, among other places, and will enhance the region’s capacity to thwart drug trafficking and money laundering operations, Martin said in a statement.

This designation will allow additional significant resources to Lehigh County to be deployed to continue the ongoing effort to reduce drug production, drug trafficking and drug-related deaths.

Lehigh County will join other HIDTA counties in Pennsylvania including Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia.

Lehigh County was designated after providing evidence to demonstrate the following:

• The area is a significant center of illegal drug production, manufacturing, importation or distribution.

• State, local and other law enforcement agencies have committed resources to respond to the drug trafficking problem in the area, indicating a determination to respond aggressively to the problem.

• Drug-related activities in the area have a significant, harmful impact in the area and other areas of the United States.

• A significant increase in federal resources is necessary to respond adequately to drug-related activities in the area.

Lehigh County’s proximity to New York City, northern New Jersey and Philadelphia makes it a prime location for drug trafficking and has witnessed an influx of drug and violent activity from New York and New Jersey, as well as drug-related deaths fueled by the opioid crisis and fentanyl, which is currently present in many illegal drugs being sold on the street.

Drug-trafficking organizations recognize this and have partnered with gangs operating in Lehigh County and use those alliances to expand drug distribution and develop deeper criminal networks that also engage in gun and sex trafficking.

Based on local intelligence and investigative findings, kilogram quantities of heroin/fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine are being supplied by Mexican drug trafficking organizations into the region.

Lehigh County shares borders with two other Liberty Mid-Atlantic HIDTA counties - Montgomery and Bucks - and criminals do not respect geographical borders.

Lehigh County is also adjacent to I-80 and I-476, which provide ease of access to major drug destinations in the Mid-Atlantic area and New England. That is one of many reasons the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s investigations established a resident agent in charge office in Allentown this year.

The violence and availability of fentanyl and other illegal substances that Lehigh County law enforcement has encountered over the past several years have created a public safety and public health crisis. Lehigh County has the third highest percentage of its population affected by drug-related deaths in the commonwealth.

The combination of drug trafficking, the prevalence of fentanyl, drug-related deaths and increased violence requires more resources for law enforcement to properly address, and the LMA HIDTA will help accomplish that.

“I am very pleased and excited to have Lehigh County receive this designation. Participation with LMA HIDTA will be a great benefit to law enforcement and to my office,” Martin said.