Gulf Coast HIDTA training took place in Biloxi

At the Golden Nugget Hotel and Resort today hundreds of local law enforcement partners trained for new ways to combat the opioid crisis.

Over 300 drug law enforcement and highway officers from all across the south came to the Coast.

During training they learned specialized skills like searching hidden compartments, commercial vehicles and license plate readers to tear down criminal organizations responsible for smuggling and distributing drugs throughout the southwest.

This is the fourth year the Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, or HITDA, and Homeland Security Investigations hosted this training. Homeland Security Investigations MS Special Agent Timothy Meadows said, “It reinvigorates the officers and agents that do interdiction on our highways. So, here they learn new techniques, tactics and take a look at past trends and trends that are emerging so they can better combat the TCO’s while they’re trafficking narcotics and illegal aliens and other commodities that should not be in converse.”

The training provides information useful for federal, state, and local law enforcement partners.