Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Narcotics Taskforce Grant topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cleveland seeks state drug-enforcement funds as signal task force reports large seizures and downward overdose trend
Summary
Council heard a grant request to fund the cartel gang narcotics task force (Signal); police and task-force sergeants reported major seizures in 2024 and said fatal overdoses in Cleveland declined from 346 (2022) to 163 (2024).
The committee considered an ordinance authorizing the director of public safety to accept a grant from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services to support the cartel gang narcotics and laundering task force (Signal). Police command staff detailed the grant budget, partner agencies and recent enforcement results.
The director said the proposed grant award is $136,875.79 with a required cash match of $45,625.26 and a total budget of $182,501.05; the program reimburses costs associated with a multiagency drug task force that includes FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard, IRS, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Ohio Highway Patrol, county sheriff’s offices and municipal partners. The ordinance packet indicated the city has received similar funding annually since 2005.
Sergeant Michael McNeely (narcotics) reported 2024 results: the task force seized roughly $528,000 in assets so far; seized fentanyl pill doses totaled 21,866 unit doses and fentanyl powder seizures were reported as 153 (stated in meeting as "£153", recorded here as discussed by the task force); methamphetamine and marijuana weights and firearms (32 firearms seized) were also reported. The sergeant noted a single prior 2024 investigation yielded a seizure of more than 600,000 pills, one of the largest seizures in the northern district of Ohio.
Deputy Chief Pillow and other staff said large narcotics seizures likely reflect distribution flows through Mexican cartels using precursor chemicals sometimes sourced from China; they emphasized federal partners (FBI-led strike force) supervise the task force and that Cleveland assigns detectives and supervisory staff to the strike force.
Public-health context: police provided fatal-overdose counts for Cleveland showing a decline from 346 fatal overdoses in 2022 to 323 in 2023 and 163 in 2024. Officials attributed part of the decline to increased seizures, prevention outreach, distribution of naloxone (NARCAN) and task-force collaboration with federal partners. The committee approved the ordinance as read; staff noted grant administration details and that the local cash match would be covered by the law-enforcement trust fund.
