Whitfield County gets $821,000 from drug-money bust

A drug-money smuggling investigation last year led to the Whitfield County sheriff's office receiving more than $800,000 this week, Sheriff Scott Chitwood said.

The sheriff's office seized more than $2.2 million cash in September 2011 after a monthslong investigation into a Mexican drug cartel with connections to Dalton, Ga.

The money went through the federal forfeiture process and now -- a year later -- $821,000 has been awarded to the sheriff's office. Maj. John Gibson said this is the largest amount of cash the department has ever nabbed from one investigation.

"We have seizures on a regular basis, but the magnitude is pretty unusual," he said. "We have never seized that much money at one time."

Federal law stipulates law enforcement agencies can use seized money for capital projects, training or equipment, but it can't be used for salaries or raises, Whitfield County Administrator Mark Gibson said.

Read More. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)