BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Since its reinstatement in 2024 the Drug Task Force has removed more drugs than they have ever seen before according to Sheriff Youngblood. They are on a mission to remove all the drugs in the streets.
In the past 18 months the Sheriff's Office says it's made many more drug arrests and taken many more drugs off our streets. The sheriff says the drugs are now being made here, instead of being brought in from elsewhere. Bringing back a special team has helped clean our streets and keep our neighborhoods safe.
In 2024 Kern County reinstated the Sheriff's Drug Enforcement Unit, after years of it being disbanded in 2008. The Board Of Supervisors authorized close to $500,000 to reinstate it. Since then, Sheriff Donny Youngblood claims deputies have seized an "unprecedented" amount of drugs in the past 18 months.
Jeff Flores Kern County Supervisor District III says "Incredible results of fighting crime, taking drugs off the streets, arrest, operations, and closure of marijuana shops. It was a very good community update on keeping Kern County residents safe, and fighting illegal drug use from the Kern County Sheriff Department."
Supervisor Jeff Flores was one of the front runners in helping reinstate the task force. He tells me he saw firsthand how the marijuana shops hurt his community and district.
"These are dangerous places. I've been on raids with the sheriffs staff before. They are finding guns, cash, illegal drugs, in addition to the marijuana. After the task force was funded it brought the 10 shops in Oildale down to 0!" said Flores
In the last 18 months the task force has made 319 arrests, seized 186 firearms, $285,365 in cash, 81.5 pounds of methamphetamine, 24 pounds of fentanyl, 61 pounds of marijuana and 500 fentanyl M30 pills.
Donny Youngblood Sheriff Kern County Sheriffs Office said "We can't measure the numbers of lives that have been saved because this amount of drugs didn't hit the streets in Kern County. These drugs dealers are no different than sticking a gun in the face of our youth and pulling the trigger. The end result is the same!"
Sheriff Youngblood says the task force isn't fully complete and they are working on adding more units to clean the streets.
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