County to Split Drug Money With a Georgia Department

By ANDY BEHLEN Fayette County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a forfeiture revenue sharing agreement between the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and the Sheriff’s Department in Lamar County, Georgia. The agreement stems from a training partnership between the two agencies.

The agreement covers any forfeitures collected while the Georgia deputies are training with officers here. The deal states that 20 percent of any forfeitures will go to the prosecuting attorney’s office, forty percent to Lamar County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Department and forty percent to Fayette County Sheriff’s Department.

The partnership began after Fayette County Sheriff Keith Korenek and two of his deputies attended a drug interdiction conference in March. The five-day conference took place at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada. 

Airfare, lodging and conference registration fees totaled $4,665 for the three officers, not including their salary for the five days. The travel expenses were paid for with county forfeiture funds.

While in Reno, the Sheriff said he and his two deputies networked with law enforcement officers from around the country who specialize in catching drug traffickers. That’s where they met the deputies from Georgia.

The Sheriff asked the Record not to reveal any tactics used by his officers to catch drug criminals. He explained how Fayette County deputies have become very proficient at one method of catching drug traffickers, but they have been less successful using another method. The officers from Georgia have the opposite problem, he said. In order to help each other out, Korenek said the Georgia officers are coming here to cross-train with Fayette County deputies.

The county obtains forfeiture funds from money and other assets seized during arrests. Those funds remain in a seizure account until further disposition by the court. If the defendants in those cases are convicted, the funds are transferred to a forfeiture account. The county may then use forfeiture funds for a number of items as outlined in state law for official use of the office, including law enforcement training and equipment.

In addition, forfeiture funds are sometimes shared between other law enforcement agencies and prosecutors that participated in the arrest or investigation.

Cash seizures have been a lucrative activity for the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies have recovered over $1 million in suspected drug money in just three high-profile busts over the last five months.