DEMOPOLIS, Ala. (WIAT) — West Alabama has a special team of law enforcement agents dedicated to stopping the flow of drugs and apprehending drug dealers.  The agents work for the 17th Judicial Circuit Drug Task force based in Demopolis.

Agent JR Rivas is one of the task force agents who says his team is still making a big dent in the war on drugs.

“The drug problem is still here and the demand is here and it’s our duty to come out and tell these drug dealers that we are here and we are ready to fight every day to make sure we make our community safe,” he said.

In 2011 Greene County District Attorney Greg Griggers created the drug task force, since then the unit has seized millions of dollars worth of drugs off the streets.  

“We have major guys working the interstate who are trying to put a dent in the drug trafficking that’s going on with the Mexican cartel.  And right now fentanyl is so dangerous and lots of people are dying from it and it’s a poison,” Griggers said.

The task force team patrols Greene, Marengo and Sumpter counties and are responsible for 55 miles of interstate, where they keep a look out for drug trafficking.