CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Charleston police are seeing an increase of crystal methamphetamine seizures so far in 2018, with a projected seizure rate of around 23,000 grams by the end of the year.
Charleston Police Chief Steve Cooper and local law enforcement took part in a forum Tuesday at Horace Mann Middle School, where they spoke about the crime issues in Kanawha City as well as the growing prevalence of crystal meth in Charleston.
More than 120 people attended the public event.
According to information from the department, officers seized almost 12,000 grams of crystal meth in the first half of the year.
Cooper said while heroin seizures have sharply declined to an expected 600 grams this year, crystal meth seizures have skyrocketed because it is easier to get compared to heroin.
“Part of this is driven by economics,” he said. “The cartels were losing a lot of their clients with the overdose deaths with the heroin and fentanyl. Marijuana being level in other states drove the prices down on marijuana because the quality of the marijuana you would get in the states where it was legalized was much better than what was coming across the border.”
“To supplement the income of the cartels, they have flooded the market with crystal meth. And right now, it is not very expensive,” he added.
Cooper said the crystal meth is primarily produced in Mexico, and is brought to Charleston from Detroit and Atlanta.