Highway Patrol Continues To Battle Opioid/Human Trafficking Crisis In Missouri

Troopers with the Missouri State Highway Patrol are working with out-of-state law enforcement to stop human trafficking and to manage the effects of the boarder crisis.

“This training was put together by the Texas department of safety. We had their instructors come up here to Missouri to train our instructors, who have in turn not only trained members of our Missouri Highway Patrol, but other law enforcement entities” says Captain John Hotz with the ‘Patrol, “We have conducted operations were victims have been rescued and people have been arrested for human trafficking. We know that the clues for looking for human trafficking are a bit different than things we’ve been looking at before.”

Hotz says the opioid crisis in some parts of Lake of the Ozarks and around the state remains a focus for them as well “We have to educate the people and get people treatments as well, before this issue is going to go away. We’re trying to work with numerous agencies, so that when we come in contact with these individuals we can at least know where to get these individuals help, as we know these drugs are very addicting.”

Captain Hotz says the Patrol is recognizing that arrests are not the only way to tackle the opioid crisis.

Hotz was interviewed by Christian Blood on the KRMS Morning Magazine.