OCDETF

Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces

The DEA participates in the OCDETF that has become the law enforcement model of federal, state, and local cooperation and collaboration in the fight against organized crime and drug traffickers. Aspects of the program have served as models for every new law enforcement initiative in recent years, such as HIDTA, Weed and Seed, and the Anti-Violence Initiative. OCDETF has been successful because it effectively uses attorneys at the early stages of investigations, uses financial investigations to reach otherwise invulnerable targets, and fosters collaboration among law enforcement agencies from all jurisdictions. OCDETF objectives are:

• To target, investigate, and prosecute individuals who organize, direct, finance, or are otherwise engaged in high-level illegal drug trafficking enterprises, including large-scale money laundering organizations;
  
  
• To promote a coordinated drug enforcement effort in each task force region, and to encourage maximum cooperation among all drug enforcement agencies;
  
  
• To work fully and effectively with state and local drug enforcement agencies; and
  
  
• To make full use of financial investigative techniques.