LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB Fox 41)---Law enforcement agencies in Hardin County will soon get some extra help.
The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program was created by Congress in 1988.
The purpose is to provide assistance to law enforcement agencies in drug-trafficking regions, which now includes Hardin County.
In Hardin County, there's one drug in particular officials with the Greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force deal with the most.
"Meth, meth labs, crystal meth is being brought in," says Ron Eckart, the Director for the Greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force.
Eckart says it's a daily effort to keep up with the complaints.
Last year, the task force had 172 meth related cases. Prescription drugs came in 2nd with 105 cases. The task force dealt with 79 marijuana cases in 2011, making it the 3rd most popular drug in the county.
This doesn't even include the numbers from other law enforcement agencies in Hardin County.
Officials say heavily-traveled roads, like I-65, may play a factor in the drug problem.
"It's a good travel route for drugs going up and down the interstate system," says Ron Eckart.
It's why Hardin County has now been designated a High Intensity Drug Traffic Area, known as HIDTA.
There are 28 other counties in the state that also have the same title.
The federal designation means assistance will be provided to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the county. This includes additional funding.
"Money could be used for overtime, for drug purchases, for training, for some equipment…different things to help combat the problem," says Ron Eckart, Director of the Greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force.
That's something Ron Eckart says is important for Hardin County, especially with cuts in recent years.
"Any money will help, because budgets get cut it seems like every year and we scrape and do the best we can to get by. Any additional funding that we could have to combat the drug problem is only another tool in our belt," says Ron Eckart.
Eckart says they tried before to get this federal designation, but the application didn't go through. They say this was their second attempt.
They don't know yet how much money they'll be receiving or what exactly they'll use it for, and say this is still in the early stages.
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