Crime

Mapp Focuses On Eliminating Drug Trafficking To Reduce Violent Crimes In Territory At HIDTA Board Meeting

ST. THOMAS -- Government House here was the location of the executive board meeting of the Puerto Rico/U. S. Virgin Islands High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program (HIDTA) meeting on Wednesday, Government House has made known via press release. According to the release, Governor Kenneth Mapp and HIDTA Director Michel Gottlieb -- who heads the program at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy -- jointly welcomed over 50 participants to the meeting. The HIDTA program is a national model for facilitating coordination and cooperation among federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies in the effort to combat drug-related safety and health consequences. Government House said the governor, in his opening remarks, reminded the audience of his commitment to fighting crime in the Virgin Islands -- much of which Mr. Mapp says is tied to local drug trafficking and drug transhipping -- by making resources available and removing interagency barriers. The governor r...