Detroit drug initiative to combat violence, overdoses coming to Muskegon

The Drug Enforcement Administration uses crime statistics and health data to identify hot spots of drug-related violence and overdose deaths in order to devote law enforcement resources where they will have the most impact: communities where criminal networks are causing the most harm.

“What the data did reveal is that second to Detroit per capita is Muskegon, where you have these overdose deaths and this gun violence,” said, Officer Brian McNeal, public information officer for the DEA’s Detroit Field Division, which is bringing Operation Overdrive Phase III to Muskegon.

“The DEA’s primary mission when you boil it all down and remove all the fancy terminology is to keep people safe, and this is just another tool,” he added.

The original Operation Overdrive launched in 2022 included Detroit and Flint, partnering local law enforcement with federal resources.

“We work with them to identify who are the bad actors, what are the neighborhoods in your city or region,” McNeal said. “You’re the boots on the ground so you’re seeing those things.”

McNeal says Operation Overdrive has helped arrest major drug players in multiple states and gotten illegal guns off the streets used in crimes ranging from robbery to murder.

The project also highlights outreach and awareness initiatives to combat drug overdoses and poisonings in the community.