The 17th Judicial Drug Task Force received a $127,235.91 grant from ADECA this year, which is nearly twice what they received last year.

Task Force Commander Clint Sumlin said the increase in grant money is due to the hard work his agency has put in over the last year. Last year, the task force received $65,000 from ADECA.

“Our statistics were so much better this year, and they basically said we do a really good job,” Sumlin said.

“The busts we’ve made, the drugs and money we’ve seized and the cases we’ve made contributed to the increase in grant funding.”

Sumlin said the money from the grant will help cover the cost of fuel, vehicle repair and other operating costs, as well as to offset the costs of salaries for the agents.

“It takes a lot of fuel for five guys to cover 3,000 square miles,” he said. “A lot of this will go to fuel and upkeep of the cars.”

He added that the grant is the only burden of the task force on taxpayers.

The rest of their expenses are paid through their seizures and private donations.

“This is really a testament to the hard work of our agents, our administrative staff, and the sheriff’s offices and police departments that are out there with us making these busts and seizures,” he said.

“I also want to thank the people that helped us when we didn’t have the grant and the year we lost it. We wouldn’t have been able to continue our operations to get to this point without them.”

The Drug Task Force was started in 2011 by District Attorney Greg Griggers to assist local law enforcement in combating drugs in Greene, Marengo and Sumter counties.