Virginia public-safety secretary briefs subcommittee on fentanyl seizures, trafficking operations, drones and first-responder wellness

Secretary Terry Cole, Virginia's Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, told the Senate Finance and Appropriations Public Safety Subcommittee in Richmond that state and local partners have carried out a series of coordinated operations that produced large fentanyl seizures, launched a human‑trafficking surge and highlighted new homeland‑security threats posed by drones.

Cole briefed the panel on Operation Free, which he said began as a 30‑day coordinated statewide enforcement and public‑education surge and later expanded into a 45‑day effort that included more jurisdictions and out‑of‑state partners. "Just in the Commonwealth, during those 45 days, we seized 574 pounds of fentanyl," Cole said, adding that the amount is "enough fentanyl to kill every Virginian at least eight times over." He credited local, state and federal partners and said an Operation Free 3.0 is planned for the coming months.

The secretary also described a separate, 45‑day human‑trafficking operation led by the Virginia State Police in partnership with the Human…