Thursday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine visited the Northeast Ohio branch of the Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center (ONIC). At a roundtable discussion, he listened to law enforcement officials from all across the region explain how the intelligence analysts and computer forensic specialists at the agency have helped local law enforcement agencies.
DeWine created the center back in 2019 to help local law enforcement agencies crack complex drug trafficking investigations through analysis of cell phones and other electronics.
“There's nothing sadder than to see a situation where there's evidence in a cell phone, and they don't have time, the local department, can't get to it, doesn’t have the equipment to get to. And it sits there and then you find out later on that would have solved the crime and maybe the guy would have been picked up,” DeWine said.
Agencies that don’t have the technology required can bring those pieces of evidence to ONIC and have them extract valuable information related to narcotics cases, including overdose deaths.
“With our drug overdose cases, we’ve been able to probably in the last year and a half probably indict approximately 15 people on involuntary manslaughter and this played a large role in getting those indictments,” Greg Leonard, with the Crime Enforcement Agency of Ashtabula County, said.
“There's nothing sadder than to see a situation where there's evidence in a cell phone, and they don't have time, the local department, can't get to it, doesn’t have the equipment to get to. And it sits there and then you find out later on that would have solved the crime and maybe the guy would have been picked up.
ONIC has another branch in Columbus and DeWine said they hope to put more in Toledo, Cincinnati, and eventually Youngstown.
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