It did not take the Vermilion / Municipal Task Force long to turn up the heat on local drug dealers in Kaplan once Chief Boyd Adams assigned a man to the Task Force.

According to Sheriff’s Mike Couvillon, one of Chief Adams’ guarantees’ when he took office was to allocate one of his personnel to the task force to assist in combating the drug problem throughout the parish and in his city.

“We all realize by assigning just one man to the task force allows you the access to all of the other agents on the task force as well. This helps us all with the problem in the local areas,” states Couvillon.

By assigning one agent Chief Adams realized he was actually gaining six. And these agents went to work fast. Chief Adams advised that, “In addition to undercover operations that have been conducted they are also targeting the mid level dealers also. This allows us to climb the ladder so to speak and go after the larger guys.”

On Feb. 10 that’s exactly what the Task Force did.

Agents, working in an undercover capacity, made contact with one Willie Richard (DOB 5-19-79) of 606 Saltzman Ave. in Kaplan and negotiated the delivery of a large amount of suspected crack cocaine. After a place of meeting was established several agents with the Task Force along with the Task Force K-9 division set up surveillance in the area that the deal was to take place. Upon Richard arriving at the location with a female passenger, later identified as Alexis Jackson (DOB 8-7-84) of 802 N. Frederick St. Kaplan La recognized the undercover operative as a law enforcement professional from past dealings.

The undercover officer was able to see the suspected crack cocaine but Richard left the scene. This is when the Task Force K-9 division stopped the vehicle. A search for the suspected crack cocaine yielded nothing as agent’s suspect the illicit drugs were disposed of while the stop was being attempted.

Agents took the two parties in to custody and were interrogated in reference to the incident. Both subjects were booked in to the VPCC for Conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. The Task Force also seized a Cadillac Seville in the operation. Total bond was set at $5,000 on both parties.

Sheriff Mike Couvillon, Abbeville Mayor Mark Piazza, Abbeville Chief of Police Tony Hardy and Kaplan Chief Boyd Adams commends the Narcotics Task Force for a job well done.

Finally, Sheriff Couvillon would like to applaud the concerned citizens of Vermilion Parish for their awareness and assistance in helping the Sheriff’s Office in fighting the war on illegal drugs. He encourages all citizens with information in regards to illegal drug activities to contact the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office or the Vermilion Parish Municipal Narcotics Task Force at 337-740-4501 or E-mail the Task Force anonymously at taskforce@vpso.net and your e-mail will be held in the “strictest of confidence” and replied to in a very timely manner.

More information on reporting drug activities can be seen on our Web Site at www.vpso.net. Click on Narcotics or Task Force for this information.