Thursday, October 1, 2026
PATEROS – At its Feb. 18 meeting, the Pateros City Council discussed regional drug enforcement efforts of the North Central Washington Narcotics Task Force (NCWNTF), including concerns over funding and staffing shortages. The discussion came just one day before a federal press release detailed the conviction of a major drug trafficking leader tied to an April 2023 raid in Oroville.
According to the release, the raids led to the seizure of more than 161,000 fentanyl-laced pills—including 'Mexi-blues' and rainbow-colored pills—along with 80 pounds of methamphetamine, six pounds of heroin, two pounds of cocaine, and a dozen firearms.
On Feb. 18, Pateros Councilmembers Frank Herbert and Mike Harding updated the city council on their recent meeting with an NCWNTF representative, discussing the agency’s role, challenges, and funding needs.
“To understand what their role is within the area, their mission, and how that works within other law enforcement,” said Herbert. “Funding is a critical component for them.”
Communities like Pateros contribute annually to the NCWNTF. The agency recently requested an increase from $2,500 to $5,000, adding to ongoing concerns about its funding and staffing shortages.
Harding noted that NCWNTF relies on temporary volunteers from county and city law enforcement agencies, many of which are already short-staffed. "They have to borrow from other agencies that do not want to give up their people to begin with,” he said. “It’s a tough job for them.”
Mayor Kelly Hook, who has served in law enforcement for 28 years in Okanogan County, noted that the NCWNTF has shrunk significantly due to funding cuts. “The task force used to have at least 10 officers,” Hook said. “Now they’re down to three.”
“Our area has an overdose rate that is 30 percent higher than the state average,” said Herbert. “They (NCWNTF) are playing Wac-A-Mole trying to contain drug flow coming here from down south as a staging point to go to native reservations of other states,”
As Acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker, one of the prosecutors in the case noted in the media release: “Many of these drugs were destined for Native American communities…between the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington to the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana.”
The NCWNTF worked alongside the Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Drug Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Additional support came from the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office, and the Colville and Kalispel Tribal Police Departments.
Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media
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