Law Enforcement Drug Enforcement Training at Jones College

ELLISVILLE, Miss. (WDAM) – Mississippi state law enforcement officials learned about drug enforcement training at Jones College on Wednesday.

The focus was on practical training in recognizing criminal activities by commercial semi-trailers.

The Regional Counterdrug Training Academy of Meridian, Diamondback Trucking of Laurel and Truckworx Kenworth of Laurel have teamed up to train six Mississippi law enforcement agencies in the ins and outs of the transportation industry.

While commercial trucking plays an essential role in transporting goods not only across the country but around the world, unfortunately the large trucks are also used to transport illegal substances and are even involved in human trafficking.

“Our job is to educate these people to be aware of this,” said Ray Herndon, owner of Diamondback Trucking. “How this works on a day-to-day basis, how often criminal enterprises can unknowingly enter this industry and exploit it with things like human trafficking, cargo theft, equipment theft, fuel theft, smuggling attempts and much more.”

Herndon said truck drivers sometimes see illegal substances like fentanyl crossing the border into major markets.

As for law enforcement, Herndon said it's entirely possible for officers in rural Mississippi to encounter bad truckers committing bad acts.

Herndon said most state and local officials do not receive training in the transportation industry.

“We teach these officers how to conduct investigative stops while leaving as little trace as possible in the industry,” Herndon said. “We teach them what belongs there so they can recognize what clearly doesn't belong there when they see it.”

The training academy and two freight forwarding companies work together to deliver approximately 25 training courses per year across the country.

A free training for officers was offered on Wednesday, the second such training ever held at Jones College.

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