Law enforcement, others to gather for symposium on fentanyl Thursday in Morgantown - West Virginia MetroNews
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — U.S. Attorney for Northern West Virginia Bill Ihlenfeld says the “best and the brightest” when it comes to the battle against fentanyl will be part of a one-day symposium set for Thursday in Morgantown.
The WV Fentanyl Symposium sponsored by Appalachia HIDTA begins at 9 a.m. at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel & Conference Center.
“The goal is to inform and educate state, local and federal law enforcement agents about the current state of the threat as it pertains to fentanyl,” Ihlenfeld told MetroNews in comments previewing the event. “We are bringing in the top people, whether that’s law enforcement or from public health or agents from the southwest border, all with the idea that we can do better.”
Federal DEA Chief of Operations Ray Donovan will begin the symposium at 9:15 a.m. with remarks about the Mexican Cartel Threat to America. Ihlenfeld said Donovan is the foremost expert on fentanyl entering the United States.
“There is no person that I’ve ever encountered in my career in law enforcement who has a grasp on the issue of the threat that we face than Ray Donovan. He knows it better than anyone,” Ihlenfeld said. “He’s going to provide a perspective that I don’t think many in the room have ever heard. He will certainly shine a bright light on the threat that we face, where it’s coming from and how it’s getting into West Virginia.”
Fentanyl is a challenge unlike anything ever faced in West Virginia, Ihlenfeld said.
“It’s so deadly that it makes heroin look mild. It’s now the number one cause of death of people from ages 18 to 45 for any reason,” he said.
West Virginia’s losses in the opioid epidemic have been well-documented and are expected to be felt for years but Ihlenfeld said things were getting better on that front before the pandemic but then fentanyl started to take hold.
“We were making progress in this state but then once the pandemic came we started to go into the wrong direction (with the entrance of fentanyl). The pandemic has a role to play in it,” Ihlenfeld said.
The symposium will have two tracks including one that will be open to law enforcement and the news media and the second track, a closed door session, involving drug task force commanders who will be discussing interdiction and how to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations in West Virginia.
Ihlenfeld said the goal is for those involved in the fight is to leave the symposium better prepared than when they came.
source: https://wvmetronews.com/2022/03/23/law-enforcement-others-to-gather-for-symposium-on-fentanyl-thursday-in-morgantown/
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