Updated at: 11/11/2009 9:13 AM | KSAX.com
By: Megan Matthews
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Methamphetamine:  Problem in Greater Minnesota

Brainerd, Minn. – It’s a problem happening in rural communities across Minnesota.  The main focus of the Lakes Area Drug Investigative Division is enforcing methamphetamine in Crow Wing County.

“It’s not a problem that’s going away any time soon, unfortunately,” LADID Commander Joe Meyer said.

LADID has about 12 narcotic investigations going on right now.  In 2008, they arrested as many as 45 people for meth possession or trafficking in Crow Wing County alone.

“There’s some very brutal stuff out on the streets nowadays,” Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl explained.

Back in 2007, LADID uncovered five ounces of meth in a single investigation.  The street value for five ounces is about $12,000.

“It feels really good, because it’s a large amount of methamphetamine and you know you’ve taken it off the streets,” Meyer said.

LADID took the same amount of meth off the streets of Garrison, Minn. just last month; a town of only 213 people.

Sheriff Dahl says drugs have no boundaries and in rural communities like Garrison there’s likely to be someone living there that’s either using meth or is affected by it.

The recent bust happened on October 28, 2009, after an eight month investigation.

“It was a large, intense investigation that began in February,” Meyer said.  LADID was working with the U.S. DEA on the investigation for the eight months or surveillance.  Finally a search warrant uncovered five ounces of meth and $2,000 in cash, which landed Sara Jo Bloomquist in prison.  Jason Bowes was also arrested during the same investigation.

“We invest a lot of time and effort into these investigations because of the large and elevated scale that these drug dealers are on,” Meyer explained.

Bloomquist hasn’t gone to trial, but she is facing up to 30 years in prison and up to $100,000. 

“I’m very confident that this particular arrest will have a significant effect on the availability of meth in Crow Wing County,” Meyer said.

Written for the web by Megan Matthews

megan@ksax.com