The Schuylkill County District Attorney has doled out funding to six area police departments for their work combating drug dealers.

DA Christine Holman distributed $6,000 to six law enforcement agencies who participate in a drug task force."They have been putting in some overtime for us to effectuate some of the big roundups that we do," Holman said.The money was split among police departments in Tamaqua, Schuylkill Haven, Mahanoy Township, West Mahanoy Township, Shenandoah and Hegins Township, who are all members of the drug task force.Tamaqua received $1,177.40.The checks are compensation from the state Attorney General's office for the work their officers did for the task force last year, including a drug bust in November in Tower City. That operation resulted in the arrest of about 20 people involved in the trade of methamphetamine and heroin in Schuylkill County.The operation was initiated by officers from the Pine Grove and Hegins police departments."It was really impressive. Officers from Homeland Security, state police were involved. It resulted in 17-20 complaints filed, about 80 percent of what we set out to get," she said.Holman was clear that she wasn't satisfied and hoped to bring in more money to fund the county's drug enforcement efforts."I would like to see these dollars increase; all counties would," she said.Holman said that the drug trade has consequences that affect the whole community. She pointed out the large number of retail thefts that the DA's office prosecutes in the Pottsville-Saint Clair area."Retail theft accounts for a hefty portion of our cases there," First Assistant District Attorney John Fegley said.But Holman said that Schuylkill County law enforcement is working hard with the resources available to reduce the amount of drugs in the county."The general public should feel satisfied that Schuylkill County Law enforcement does care, and that we are working around the clock to drive drugs out of this county," Holman said. "That may be a pipe dream, but it is our goal."