Command changes for area drug team

Geno Cook succeeds Kevin Burns as leader

The Daily Inter Lake

The Northwest Drug Task force starts the new year with a change in leadership.

Kevin Burns, a Flathead County Sheriff's Office deputy, has been supervisor of the drug team for about five years and worked there for eight. He will go back to patrol.

Former team member Geno Cook will take over the leadership. Cook was an officer with Whitefish Police Department when he worked on the team.

He is now a sheriff's deputy.

Undersheriff Pete Wingert has nominated Burns for a meritorious service award for his work on the drug team.

Burns, with 23 years of law-enforcement experience, said he leaves the team satisfied that it makes a difference in this part of the state.

"During the past five years, the Northwest Drug Task Force has made 1,713 drug arrests and has removed $17.5 million worth of drugs off our streets," Burns said.

"In the 17 years prior to that, the task force made 1,836 drug arrests and removed 8.9 million worth of drugs."

Burns added that during his years with the task force, the group investigated and dismantled 180 methamphetamine labs.

It was before Burns was assigned to supervise the task force that Flathead County was acknowledging a serious methamphetamine problem.

He and administrative assistant Karen Moore worked to get the area designated a High Intensity Drug Trafficking area.

That translated into federal funds for the program. It also received a $500,000 Cops Methamphetamine Award for equipment, safety gear and surveillance equipment.

The team now has two state narcotics agents and a Customs agent. The team also has an additional sheriff's deputy assigned solely to prescription-drug crimes. It's the only drug team in the state with that assignment.

Burns said he has pushed hard for seizure of property used in drug trafficking.

"Because of this effort, our drug forfeiture fund has grown from $23,000 to over $300,000. This drug fund has proved to be of great value in the support of the day-to-day needs of the task force and to support the large investigations we are currently working," Burns said.

The team has 12 task-force officers and one administrative assistant. Flathead, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral Counties and the Salish and Kootenai Tribes fall under the jurisdiction of the Northwest Drug Task Force.

Burns said he's looking forward to moving into the position as patrol sergeant and grateful for the chance to shape the task force into what it is.

"We've come a long way in a relatively short amount of time."

He said Cook "has the personality and aggressive nature to continue building the positive aspects of the drug task force."