The W/B HIDTA works to reduce drug trafficking and misuse by improving interagency collaboration, promoting accurate and timely information and intelligence sharing, and providing specialized training and other resources to its law enforcement intelligence, treatment, and prevention initiatives. | |
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Message from the Executive Director
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing Washington/Baltimore HIDTA (W/B HIDTA) Executive Committee Chair, DEA Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget. We’ve done great things together during a time that has been particularly trying with the COVID-19 pandemic and the overdose epidemic concurrently affecting so many Americans.
I would also like to welcome our new W/B HIDTA Executive Board Chair, Sheriff Michael Chapman of Loudoun County, VA; and W/B HIDTA Executive Board Vice Chair William Ihlenfeld, U.S. Attorney for West Virginia. Both Sheriff Chapman and U.S. Attorney Ihlenfeld have served previously in leadership positions with the W/B HIDTA Executive Board, and we’re fortunate to have them back.
Since we’re starting the summer now, I’d like to take the opportunity to remind everyone that, according to the data from the 2011 to 2017 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, looking at almost 400,000 people and their first-time use of marijuana, cocaine, LSD, and ecstasy, initiation of each of these drugs was significantly more likely to occur in the summer than in other months. My colleague and friend Dr. Joseph Palomar at New York University found that about 30% of marijuana use, 28% of cocaine use, 34% of LSD use, and 30% of ecstasy use was initiated in summer compared with other seasons. We concur with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, that this information suggests that prevention efforts among parents and educators should increase in late spring.
In the meantime, we advise that you “mind your meds” and ensure your prescription medicines stay in a safe place where those to whom they are not prescribed cannot access them. Monitor changes in your child’s behavior, and be aware of where they are during the day. Ask them questions about who they are with, and what they are doing. Lastly, follow your gut and be vigilant.
For more information on preventing teen substance use, visit www.samhsa.gov and the Partnership to End Addiction.
Have a safe and happy summer!
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Tom Carr
Executive Director
Washington/Baltimore HIDTA
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Welcome New W/B HIDTA Leadership | |
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Executive Board Chair
Sheriff Michael Chapman, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office
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Sheriff Michael Chapman is a seasoned law enforcement professional. He was elected sheriff of Loudoun County, VA in 2011, and took office in 2012. He was re-elected in 2015 and again in 2019, and began his third term in January 2020. His agency is the largest sheriff’s office in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and is responsible for county-wide law enforcement, the jail, and the courts. It employs over 600 deputies and approximately 200 civilian personnel.
During his tenure, he has initiated a Heroin Operations Team (HOT), in response to the local heroin and opioid problem, with a continued focus on fentanyl. HOT addresses drug abuse through targeted enforcement, education, training, prevention, and treatment. He has added prescription drug awareness with assistance from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and expanded the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program to include both elementary and middle schools.
Sheriff Chapman serves on the board for the National Sheriff’s Association. He graduated from the FBI National Executive Institute, and the National Sheriff’s Institute, among other educational and professional organizations. He has had articles published in professional periodicals and news outlets, including The Hill, the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s The Police Chief, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He has also provide numerous articles and editorials for local publications.
Prior to joining the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Chapman worked for the Howard County, MD Police Department in its patrol, SWAT, and criminal investigations division; and for the DEA, where he directed all operations through the Far East, served as the assistant special agent in charge in San Francisco, and chief of public affairs, among other positions. In the private sector, Sheriff Chapman worked as a subject matter expert on the global security/law enforcement team with Booz Allen and Hamilton.
Sheriff Chapman earned a B.S. in business management from the University of Maryland, and a Master’s degree in public administration from Troy State University in Alabama.
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Executive Board Vice Chair
U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld, II, Northern District of West Virginia
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U.S. Attorney Ihlenfeld took his oath of office in October 2021. He oversees 53 employees, including 25 attorneys, and 24 support staff. The office is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in the district, defending the United States in civil cases, and collecting debts owed to the United States.
Mr. Ihlenfeld previously served as U.S. Attorney from 2011 to 2016. Prior to this, he was a state prosecutor for 13 years in West Virginia. Most recently he was a member of the West Virginia Legislature.
During his first term as U.S. Attorney, Mr. Ihlenfeld investigated and prosecuted British bank HSBC for its failure to identify money laundering transactions by Mexican drug cartels and terror groups. He also helped to broker a $150 million settlement with the McKesson Corporation for its filling of suspicious orders of painkillers from West Virginia pharmacies.
Mr. Ilenfeld has made the prevention and prosecution of public corruption a priority throughout his career. He has been honored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the FBI Citizens Academy for his efforts to address substance abuse.
After graduating with honors with Ohio University, Mr. Ihlenfeld earned his law degree from West Virginia University.
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Darknet Vendor of Fentanyl-Laced Pills Pleads Guilty in Virginia
A Tampa, Fla. man pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl on the darknet. Court documents show that, from August 2021 to February 2022, Akshay Ram Kancharia ran the darknet moniker “OnlytheFinest” on darknet markets ToRRez and DarKode Reborn. He advertised and sold nationwide pressed Oxycodone containing fentanyl, pressed Xanax, pressed Adderall, and THC resin. Kancharia sold over $73,096 in controlled substances on one market, including over 7,000 pressed Oxycodone pills. On the other marketplace, he sold over $39,793 in controlled substances, including rated orders for 3,975 pressed Oxycodone pills sold.
Between October 2021 and February 2022, law enforcement made controlled purchases from OnlyTheFinest, which included 710 pressed Oxycodone pills containing fentanyl shipped to the Eastern District of Virginia. A search warrant was conducted in February 2022 at the defendant’s residence, where agents found marijuana and a large quantity of pressed Oxycodone pills weighing approximately 2.38 kg resembling those obtained through controlled purchases that tested positive for fentanyl and pressed Xanax bars weighing approximately 437.5 grams. Law enforcement also seized $30,140 in U.S. currency. Agents observed the defendant’s cryptocurrency Ethereum wallet on his laptop that contained approximately 2.444 in bitcoin.
Kancharia is scheduled to be sentenced in August. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. The Hi-Tech Opioid task force, supported by the W/B HIDTA, conducted the investigation.
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Did You Know---Parafluorofentanyl Represents Clear and Present Danger to the Region
Drug lab data in the W/B HIDTA region shows an upward trend in the presence of fentanyl analog para-fluorofentanyl between the 1st and 4th quarters of 2021. Para-fluorofentanyl is one of three positional isomers of fluorofentanyl—a synthetic opioid and a fentanyl analog. Synthetic opioids are chemically manufactured and often accompanied with unknown potency and adverse health risks. New synthetic opioids are often mixed with more traditional drugs, creating additional risk and danger for drug users.
New reports indicate that medical examiners are seeing increased samples of para-fluorofentanyl throughout the United States. Para-fluorofentanyl, often taken or mixed with fentanyl, was responsible for over 100,000 deaths within the United States over the past year.
Para-fluorofentanyl can be injected or snorted, and is reported to be more powerful than fentanyl alone. Mixed with other drugs, para-fluorofentanyl can cause adverse reactions that may require multiple doses of Naloxone, especially when other drugs are involved. For more on this emerging drug, visit the W/B HIDTA’s Investigative Support Center online HERE.
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ADAPT Jointly Releases Evidence Brief that Prioritizes Opioid Use Disorder Prevention in Communities | |
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A Division for Advancing Prevention and Treatment (ADAPT) has jointly released an evidence brief that spotlights effective substance use prevention strategies for youth. Titled, Strategies for Preventing Opioid Use Disorders in Communities, the brief shares components of an approach to substance use prevention that includes preventing initiation of use, early identification and intervention, and development of a community-based infrastructure to support delivery of preventive interventions. Partnering with the National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives, Applied Prevention Science International, Inc., and the University of North Carolina Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, ADAPT and colleagues make a strong case for upstream strategies to address the ongoing national opioid crisis.
Backed by the best available research evidence, the authors emphasize the value of substance use prevention programs that prevent or delay initiation of use, and offer examples of tested programs. Implementation of early identification and intervention strategies is promoted to avert problems from occurring or resolve them before they exacerbate. This approach works by identifying and providing early support and programs to children and adolescents who are at risk of a variety of poor outcomes that tend to be related to one another (e.g., substance misuse, delinquency, school drop-out, depression, and other behavioral problems).
The brief also provides guidance on how a community-level infrastructure could be developed to more comprehensively advance prevention strategies. To read the full brief click HERE.
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ODMAP Recognized by National Leaders as a Tool for Providing Near Real-Time Data to Agencies Across the Country
On April 21st, the Biden Administration released its inaugural National Drug Control Strategy for 2022. The Strategy included ODMAP as a critical tool for providing near real-time data to agencies across the United States. The ODMAP team met with Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy during his visit to the W/B HIDTA. Dr. Gupta has been a long-time supporter of ODMAP, and was one of the first state health secretaries to vocalize his/her support for the program during its early phases.
ODMAP engagement is notable. By way of example, as of June 2022, there are:
- Over 3,900 agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico using the technology
- Over 25,000 users
- 26 states with statewide strategies
- Over 1.26 million suspected overdose events entered into ODMAP
For more on ODMAP, click HERE.
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ODMAP Spotlight: Montana
In March 2022, the Montana Department of Health developed a link with ODMAP to submit near real-time suspected overdose events. This was a direct result of the partnership between the Department of Health and the Montana Overdose Response Strategy’s public health analyst/drug intelligence officers. When the Montana ORS team was established in September 2021, there were only two agencies registered with ODMAP in the entire state, and no overdoses submitted to ODMAP. Now, the ORS team is working with over 80 agencies in the state, including local, state, Federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies; fire/EMS departments; county health departments; state health departments; and hospital systems.
Significant achievements in Montana include:
- The drug information officer has on-boarded most of the 56 county coroners into the system, so the state can begin tracking fatal overdoses
- ODMAP has become the foundation of the Montana alert system for overdose spike response plans for community-level response
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Through continued collaboration with state and local partners who use ODMAP, the ORS team has successfully responded to an overdose spike of eight fatal overdoses, most of which likely involved fentanyl, occurring from May 22nd to June 1, 2022. In the past, the state’s response was 14 days late, and this was the first instance in which they were able to respond in real time.
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Thank you for reading The W/B HIDTA Quarterly Journal. See you in September! | |
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