Ohio highway patrol traffic stops turn into drug busts

Routine traffic stops in 2017 by the Ohio State Patrol resulted in almost 17,000 drug arrests, a 25 percent increase over the previous year.

Lt. Clint Arnold, commander of the Hamilton OSP Post, said troopers are trained to look beyond the initial traffic stops for possible indicators of criminal activity. In 2017, the Ohio State Highway Patrol investigated a wide range of felony offenses and saw an increase in total drug arrests from 2016.

Troopers made 16,653 total drug arrestslast year, representing a 25 percent increase compared to 2016. There were 91 drug arrests in Butler County and 195 in Warren County last year, according to statistics the OSP provided.

“Many felonies which occur in our state will at some point involve our highways,” Arnold said “This provides troopers with an opportunity to prevent crime by looking for criminal indicators during traffic stops.”

Large drug seizures from 2017 include more than 29 pounds of meth, more than 35 lbs. of heroin and 8,508 ecstasy pills. In total, OSHP has seized 2,307,646 million grams of marijuana, 32,116 opiate pills and 76,018 grams of heroin.

Motorists are reminded that public involvement is critical to highway safety. Call #677 to report impaired drivers or drug activity.

For a complete statistical analysis, view the full report .

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Denise Callahan