The Albany County Sheriff’s Department continues to crack down on illegal drugs in 2009 as it looks back at its arrest records from last year.
Although the number of individuals arrested was down in 2008 compared to the year before, the numbers of felonies and violations were up. Albany County Sheriff James Campbell reported that his department recovered six pounds of powdered and crack cocaine, worth $544,800; 812 dime bags of heroin, worth $20,300; 121 pounds of marijuana, worth nearly $1.4 million; and $15,000 worth of other miscellaneous drugs ` all in 2008.
The miscellaneous drugs included hallucinogenic mushrooms, Methadone, Oxycontin, Xanax, Valium, Ritalin, steroids, crystal meth, Ecstasy and morphine.
Campbell released the numbers on Thursday, Jan. 29, from his department’s Drug Interdiction Unit.
The `street value` of the drugs confiscated are based on $200 per gram of powdered and crack cocaine, $25 per dime bag of heroin and $25 per gram of marijuana.
In addition to the drug-related arrests, Campbell said, 14 individuals were arrested on gambling charges, 26 wire taps were executed and eight individuals were arrested for prostitution.
`The year-to-year activity totals of our drug unit continues to indicated that we must collectively continue our law enforcement efforts throughout Albany County,` Campbell said. `This past year our unit alone removed $1.9 million in narcotics and 19 revolvers from the streets of Albany County.`
According to Albany County District Attorney David Soares’ office, along with the state’s Division of Criminal Justice Services, crime in New York has steadily decreased for the past 17 years.
An FBI report released in September stated that between 2006 and 2007, `crime fell at a much greater rate in New York state than the rest of the country.`
Campbell’s 2008 arrest records show that out of 195 subjects arrested, five individuals were arrested at the Albany Bus Terminal and 22 were either inmates or visitors at the Albany County Correctional Facility. There were 240 individuals arrested by the unit in 2007, which was 45 more than 2008.
Misdemeanors were also down from the 177 in 2007 as Albany County sheriff’s deputies processed 105 misdemeanors in 2008.
The Drug Interdiction Unit is under the supervision of Inspector John F. Burke, Campbell said, and is a five-member unit that has been involved in `numerous drug investigations ranging from street-level sales to wholesale suppliers` throughout the county.
The county’s drug unit executed 219 search warrants last year, according to Campbell.
Seeking re-election for his fifth term, Campbell made the announcement on Thursday, Jan. 22, that he would run for county sheriff again.
Campbell, 68, said he plans to continue to provide the county with innovative and progressive programs and that he is running again because he is still excited to come to work every day and help keep the county safe.
It is unknown at this time if Campbell, a Democrat who has been sheriff since 1989, will be challenged for his seat.“