ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 25, 1997 TAG: 9701270036
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
A four-month investigation by the Montgomery County Drug Task Force led to the arrest of 15 current and former Virginia Tech students on drug charges, including distributing drugs on campus.
Most of the arrests were among 52 drug-related indictments returned by a grand jury Wednesday against 21 people, authorities said.
In addition to the people named in the indictments, task force members arrested two students on drug charges while executing search warrants. Those suspects have not been indicted.
Police searched two Blacksburg apartments and a dorm room during the investigation. Officers seized the following drugs during those searches: more than 3 pounds of marijuana with an estimated value of $3,500; a half ounce of powder cocaine with an estimated value of $500; nine Ecstasy pills worth about $100; 1.5 ounces of crack cocaine worth about $3,000; a vial of hashish oil valued at $200; and a half ounce of hallucinogenic mushrooms. Police also seized $9,000 in cash.
The charges against the Tech students - all were enrolled at the time of the alleged offenses - included distribution of marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms and narcotics on campus as well as drug possession charges.
Larry Hincker, Tech spokesman, said the drug charges are obviously a breach of the university's student life policy, but he would not say what action the university would take against the students. Because Tech police were involved with the student arrests, he said, the university was notified. That is not always the case, depending on where the arrest happens.
Hincker said with more than 20,000 students living on and off campus, the 15 arrested did not represent a significant number.
He said unfortunately there are people who are going to use drugs on campus, but "this is nothing more serious than in the past."
"There is no [drug] ring and few, if any, of these cases are related," Hincker said.
A task force member, who spoke on the condition his name not be used, said the illegal drugs listed in the release were indicative of the kinds of narcotics police are seeing on the college campus. The task force includes investigators from the county Sheriff's Office, the Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Virginia Tech police departments and the state police.
The task force encourages anyone with information about drug trafficking in Montgomery County to call the Drug Hotline at 381-2291. Callers can remain anonymous.
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