Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison plans to hire three new investigators to halt the increase of heavy drugs circulating in the area.
At this week's meeting of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, Harrison cited the U.S. Justice Department's findings that Mexican drug trafficking organizations are expanding from Atlanta into North Carolina.
Commissioner Matt Calabria says he supports beefing up the team, which now has 11 drug investigators.
"These officers were very, very busy making street level arrests and investigating drug activity in general. But as we grow as a county and as we grow as a region, drug activity is naturally going to increase."
Calabria says the hires could help law enforcement arrest more powerful members of trafficking organizations.
He says funding to hire the investigators would come from a Sheriff's office surplus, as well as asset seizures from drug operations.