MADRAS, OR -- Jefferson County Sheriff Jason Pollock wants his office to rejoin the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement team. Drug trafficking, particularly fentanyl and other opioids along with meth continues to be a challenge for Central Oregon law enforcement.

“Yeah, it’s always been an issue in our county,” Lieutenant Jason Evan says that’s why it’s important for Jefferson County to be part of the CODE team, “For the drug issues that are never-ending. I don’t even know how long it’s been since we have actually had somebody in CODE.”

Evan says rejoining became a priority for Sheriff Pollock after he took office last year, and he’s working on finding funding for the program. 

Lieutenant Evan tells KBND News being a part of CODE would be a benefit, “It draws resources from other places. If there’s something big enough going on in Jefferson County, the CODE team would bring people from Deschutes County, Crook County, OSP, all those agencies in to assist with dealing with it. It’s not like you seen on TV. It is a lot of leg work and paper work. And it just brings more resources to bear on that issue.”

There is not yet a specific timeline for JCSO to rejoin CODE.