United States Drug Enforcement Administration

DULUTH, Minn. – United States Drug Enforcement Administration Omaha Division Special Agent in Charge Richard Salter Jr. announced the opening of the Duluth, Minnesota, Post of Duty and partnership with the Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force at a joint press conference today in City Hall. The Duluth POD becomes the 11th DEA office in the five-state Omaha Division and supplements the existing successful state and local drug law enforcement presence in Northeastern Minnesota and Western Wisconsin.

“Joining the existing Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force provides a force-multiplier for all involved agencies,” Salter said. “This partnership brings additional federal law enforcement and prosecutorial resources that will help dismantle criminal drug trafficking organizations currently causing destruction to many of our families and communities.”   

With the addition of the Duluth POD, the DEA has 240 domestic offices in 23 divisions throughout the United States and 93 foreign offices in 69 countries. The Omaha Division is comprised of 11 offices covering Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and counties in Western Illinois and Western Wisconsin. The newly established Duluth POD will embed two DEA agents and additional federally deputized task force officers with the Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.

Addressing media alongside Duluth Chief of Police Mike Tusken, First Assistant U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk and Duluth Mayor Emily Larson, Salter said he is extremely grateful for the support of state, local and tribal law enforcement partners and anticipates that this partnership will continue to fight the evils and destruction associated with illegal drug trafficking.

“We’re merely embedding DEA agents into the very successful and long-standing Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crime Task Force,” Salter said. “The DEA’s strength is our global network of intelligence and operational resources throughout the United States that enables us to respond rapidly and expand investigations that often link to other major U.S. transportation-hub cities, the U.S.-Mexico border, and ultimately to drug cartels in Mexico and fentanyl suppliers in China.”

For more information on the Omaha Division or to request an interview, contact DEA Public Information Officer Emily Murray at 571-387-3545.

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