Guilford County Sheriff’s Office’s new plane already making a difference
GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) – The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office officially has a new plane.
It’s already up in the air working to stop violent criminals and take guns and drugs off the streets.
The new plane is a Cessna 172 SP. With four seats, better safety features and a more lenient weight restriction, the pilots can do a lot more with it.
In the past two and a half weeks it’s been operational, law enforcement has taken about 22 pounds of cocaine, 27 pounds of marijuana and 10 guns using aerial surveillance.
“I think that’s going to continue and be a great benefit and help keep the citizens safe … We also use it on surveillance, targeting criminal investigations,” said Capt. Johnathan Hasty with the Special Operations Division.
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The sheriff’s office bought the $389,500 plane using asset forfeiture funding. That’s the money taken by law enforcement from drug traffickers.
They’ve already seized more than $200,000 since getting the four-seater, which directly helps people.
“The more traffickers we can take off the street from a drug investigation standpoint, hopefully, the less overdoses we have, the less violence associated with that drug trafficking, so that’s that will greatly benefit the citizens and the community,” Hasty said.
The best part is the plane will be around for decades to keep you and your families safe.
“With our maintenance, the way we do and how we take care of it, it should last minimum of 30 to 40 years,” Hasty said.
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The sheriff’s office has one full-time pilot who works as a lieutenant and five part-time pilots.
As for the old plane, the sheriff is in the process of trying to sell it.
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