Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong has served Carson City, a small community of roughly 60,000 residents, for 22 years.
Despite its modest size, Carson City, the capital of Nevada, like many communities across the nation, has increasingly experienced drug trafficking, underscoring the need for regional cooperation.
Furlong highlighted a recent case where two women were arrested with 11 pounds of fentanyl, a significant seizure given the small size of the jurisdiction.
“We have members from our organization that work with a statewide task force and the federal task force up in Reno,” Furlong told Federal Newswire. “They target those mid-level distribution and higher level distribution cartel levels everywhere.”
However, Furlong said the seizure was the result of a random traffic stop by a drug unit.
“We run in this community a proactive drug unit,” Furlong said. “They are constantly on the search for drug activity everywhere that they go.”
On June 28, 2024, the Carson City Sheriff's Office arrested Brandy Martinez, 25, and Emily Rochin, 22, after a traffic stop on an interstate bypass led to the discovery of 11 pounds of fentanyl powder and pills in their vehicle.
The drugs were likely headed toward the larger Reno-Washoe County area.
Both individuals were charged with fentanyl trafficking, possession of fentanyl and conspiracy to violate the Controlled Substances Act.
“If you anticipate that this occurred on a random traffic stop, imagine how much has been getting through,” Furlong said.
The large quantity of fentanyl intercepted indicates a high level of distribution linked to cartel networks operating out of Southern California and Mexico.
“This has a tremendous impact on the drug market in the region,” Furlong said. “From the aspect of overdoses and fentanyl, problems that we're having here, picking off these transports is critical to us all.”
Furlong acknowledged that, while in 2024, Carson City’s overdose rates have been lower compared to previous years; however, the influx of fentanyl remains a serious concern.
“Our recent data suggests that when it comes to overdoses, we're really running currently at a probably a low year for overdose deaths,” he said.
In January, Furlong reviewed Carson City’s 2023 crime and public safety data, highlighting a troubling increase in traffic deaths, overdoses and suicides.
Despite a 14 percent drop in violent crime, overdose deaths surged by over 50 percent from the previous year, largely due to the dangerous combination of methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Furlong emphasized the need for officers to carry Narcan and outlined a comprehensive strategy that includes local, mid-level and federal collaboration to combat drug issues.
He also stressed the importance of drug courts for rehabilitation.
In 2022, Furlong was one of nine Nevada sheriffs who criticized President Joe Biden’s border policies, calling for a return to the Trump administration’s measures, such as resuming border wall construction.
The letter claimed Biden’s policies, which have resulted in between 10 and 13 million illegal immigrants entering the country over the past few years, are worsening criminal activity related to illegal immigration.
In regard to the broader drug landscape, Furlong noted that methamphetamines continue to be a significant issue in Carson City.
“When I became the sheriff 22 years ago, amphetamines were a scourge,” he said. “It remains the extraordinarily high drug of choice in our local environment. We probably see more methamphetamine-type drug arrests than any other drugs.”
In terms of combating drug trafficking, Furlong pointed to the importance of targeting major routes and alternate paths.
“Interstate 80 going all the way across the country is a heavily traveled route for narcotics,” he said.
Furlong noted “alternate routes become very open” as traffickers seek less scrutinized paths.
His concerns about the state’s illicit drug trade extend to recent legislative developments affecting law enforcement.
Furlong said state laws passed in 2021 and 2023 aim to prohibit information sharing between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, a measure that Furlong and his peers find problematic.
“We have a very close relationship with Immigration services, Homeland Security,” he said. “The Nevada Sheriffs and Chiefs Association is obviously fighting that cause. We believe that our immigration officials are essential partners of ours.”
Furlong criticized the legislation as a setback for collaborative efforts between state and federal agencies.
“The Nevada Legislature over the last four years has pushed on to the Attorney General's Office basically, you will not talk with federal immigration authorities or share information,” he said. “It's absolutely critical that we all share information.”
Furlong is concerned about the weakening of law enforcement's effectiveness.
“It's just been a catastrophe,” he said. “Law enforcement organizations can refuse the attorney general's directions and just provide the attorney general with the feedback that now we have our own policies and such.”
State lawmakers have recently given more bite to law enforcement by increasing penalties for fentanyl.
In 2023, Nevada passed SB35, a law designed to strengthen its response to the fentanyl crisis by establishing specific trafficking thresholds for the drug.
The new legislation sets thresholds for fentanyl trafficking at 28-42 grams and high-level trafficking at 42-100 grams, making these offenses category B felonies to address the drug’s small and highly dangerous doses.
