The Asheville Initiative is a partnership of Federal, State, Tribal and Local law enforcement agencies encompassing the counties of Buncombe, McDowell, Henderson, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians counties of Haywood, Jackson, Swain, Graham, Cherokee and Clay. The Asheville Initiative is collocated at the DEA Post of Duty in Asheville. The initiative focuses investigative efforts in identifying, disrupting, and dismantling the activities of Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) and Money Laundering Organizations (MLOs) impacting Western North Carolina (WNC), including the greater Asheville area and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian Reservation.
Mexico-based DTOs are the most significant threat to WNC. These DTOs utilize the vast highway system that connects WNC to source cities as their main supply routes. These DTOs have also formed alliances or partnerships with local “gangs,” which are usually sub-sets of national street gangs such as the Bloods, Crips, Aryan Brotherhood, Folk Nation, Gangster Disciples, or the Outlaw Motorcycle Gang. These local gangs are smaller organizations which are primarily responsible for the local distribution of illegal drugs in WNC.
The task force serves as a force multiplier for narcotics enforcement in WNC and utilizes all investigative techniques to target and dismantle these organizations at the highest levels.