Published: March 01, 2011

http://www2.wspa.com/news/2011/mar/01/5/police-departments-receive-3-million-drug-money-ar-1522750/

Several state and Upstate law enforcment agencies have received a combined $3 million in seized drug money, the United States Attorney for the district of South Carolina said.

The agencies investigated and broke up a drug and money laundering scheme run by a Charles Penland in Spartanburg County that resulted in drugs, money and property being seized, the authorities said.

According to a press release from US Attorney Bill Nettles' Office, "[t]he agencies that participated in the investigation include Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, the Greenville Police Department, the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service."

Here's how much each agency receives:

Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office: $1.1 million

SC Highway Patrol: $832,000

Greenville Police Department: $495,000

Greenville County Sheriff's Office: $295,000

SLED: $181,000

Cherokee County Sheriff's Office: $144,000

Each agency says it will use the money to make up for budget shortfalls and to provide services that otherwise would not be funded.

In Cherokee County, for instance, the money will go toward creating a drug interdiction unit and to buy other drug-fighting tools.

In Spartanburg County, deputies say they'll use it to buy new cruisers, vests, training and other equipment.

Drug seizure money is not, of course, a steady stream of income, but when it does come in, it can help "offset the burden to taxpayers," said Tony Ivey with Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office.

Ivey said since 2005, his department has spent an estimated $2.8 million in forfeiture money, and they've spent large amounts on training, new cruisers, and rennovations to the sheriff's office.

"We will continue to utilize State and Federal forfeiture funds to supplement what our budget cannot provide us to go forward," Ivey said.