Gov. Justice issues Executive Order creating WV Narcotics Intelligence Unit

Gov. Jim Justice issued an Executive Order Thursday creating the West Virginia Narcotics Intelligence Unit. The unit will be under the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety's Intelligence Fusion Center, according to a news release.

The order will crack down on drug trafficking, according to the news release from the Governor's office.

Justice announced the creation of the Intelligence Unit to West Virginia legislators at his State of the State address Wednesday night.

"Tonight I am ordering Secretary Jeff Sandy to form a new unit called a Narcotics Intelligence Unit – a new unit at the Fusion Center – it will be a strike force,” Justice said. “I'm going to ask you for $1.9 million and I'm going to ask you to give us that to stop this terrible effort.

“I will promise you, promise you that if you are kind enough to give us that opportunity – and I want to say this as sincerely and as forcefully as a human being could ever say it – I want to look right in the camera and tell anybody, anybody that is trying to come into our state with drugs: We are going to bust your ass. That's all there is to it.”

The unit will be tasked with aiding West Virginia task forces and law enforcement agencies in the administration of criminal justice, including assisting in the detection, apprehension, detention, prosecution and adjudication of accused people and criminal offenders, according to the news release.

The Executive Order is attached to the right of this article.