Appalachian Drug Task Force expands in north Georgia

CLEVELAND - Starting Wednesday, the Appalachian Drug Task Force will encompass four additional law enforcement agencies in north Georgia.<br /> <br /> The expansion of the task force includes the sheriff's offices in Rabun, Stephens and Habersham counties, as well as the police department in the city of Toccoa. The Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office will be under the umbrella, as well, according to a press release issued Tuesday.<br /> <br /> The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and The Department of Public Safety are responsible for the oversight of the Appalachian Drug Task Force, along with 11 other drug task forces in the state. <br /> <br /> The Appalachian Drug Task Force is a multi-county drug enforcement agency that encompasses the White County Sheriff's Office, the Banks County Sheriff's Office, the Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office, the Towns County Sheriff's Office, the Enotah Judicial Circuit and the Piedmont Judicial Circuit. Board members approved inclusion of the other counties in a vote on July 14, 2014.<br /> <br /> The press statement said the addition of Rabun, Habersham, and Stephens counties will enhance coordination, information and intelligence sharing, and law enforcement efforts across these two geographic areas which border each other.<br /> <br /> In addition, GBI supervision and training resources will assist in enhancing and improving law enforcement investigations and the resulting prosecutions in the Enotah, Piedmont, and Mountain Judicial Circuits.<br /> <br /> The expansion mean the Mountain NCIS Team will no longer be in operation.<br /> <br /> Personnel assigned to the drug task force will be selected from a pool of candidates supplied by the member agencies and vetted by the GBI.<br /> <br />