Courtesy Photo About 105 grams of methamphetamine, seized in Alpena by the Huron Undercover Narcotics Team in 2020, appears on a scale in this photo provided by HUNT.

ALPENA — Last year, Northeast Michigan police seized ten times as much methamphetamine as in the year before, despite a dip in drug-related arrests, according to a report recently produced by the Huron Undercover Narcotics Team detailing its 2020 activity.

The data confirms what police and courts have reported seeing in recent years: Meth is a growing problem in Northeast Michigan, according to D/Lt. Stuart Sharp, HUNT commander.

Police made half as many drug-related arrests in 2020 — when police work was limited by coronavirus pandemic protocols — as in the previous year, down to 52 arrests from 98 in 2019, according to the HUNT report.

While investigations involving other drugs decreased, cases involving methamphetamine jumped from 16 in 2018 to 39 meth investigations in 2020.

Northeast Michigan police seized 357 grams of meth in 2020 — ten times the 35 grams seized in 2019 — with a street value nearing $36,000.

Pharmacists are increasingly careful with sales of over-the-counter medication necessary for meth production, leading to fewer labs in Northeast Michigan, Sharp said. In 2020, HUNT raided three meth labs, compared to eight in 2017.

Those 2020 raids include a lab at an Alcona County home occupied by numerous children and another in Montmorency County, operated by a former prison inmate, according to the report.

Much of the meth sold in Northeast Michigan now is produced in labs in Mexico and Central America countries, trafficked to the area through downstate distributors, according to Sharp.

Dealers caught locally typically possess much less of the drug than the pounds found on distributors in metropolitan areas. Because of its location, Alpena is the end of the line for meth traveling north on U.S.-23, so dealers only bring as much north as they think they can sell, Sharp said.

“When we get multiple ounces, that’s an awful lot of drugs making their way here,” Sharp said.

Several hallucinogen labs discovered in 2020 accounted for nearly $40,000-worth of seized drugs, including a raid of a Hubbard Lake home in August in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. That investigation involved an intercepted package from the Netherlands containing large amounts of ecstasy and other prescription drugs.

Overshadowed by the rapid increase of meth-related crime, hallucinogens and ecstasy are on the rise locally, as well, Sharp said.

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Montmorency County garnered the highest percentage of HUNT arrests for the year. Drug activity has increased exponentially in that county, according to Sharp.

The City of Alpena, which accounted for about half of HUNT’s arrests in 2018 and 2019, made up only a fifth of arrests in 2020.

Northeast Michigan poses difficulties to drug enforcement officers not found in large cities, said Sharp, who has worked in metropolitan areas downstate.

In a tight-knit community, he said, residents are less likely to share information that might help police. A low population makes physical surveillance difficult, with even unmarked police cars more conspicuous than in a metropolitan area.

Sellers here, where drugs flow through a network known to dealers, are harder to detect than in cities, where drugs can be purchased on a street corner, Sharp said.

Tips do come in on the HUNT website — 89 of them in 2020, some leading to significant arrests — but many tips lack the details police need to act, such as license plate numbers or dates and times of suspected drug activity, Sharp said.

Methamphetamine’s psychological effects, including paranoia, are especially dangerous when paired with weapons, Sharp said.

In recent weeks, he reported, police stopped an Alpena resident with meth, a stolen handgun, and another gun with the serial number removed. The man’s 12-year-old son was in the car with him.

“People think we’re safer from those types of events than we actually are up here,” Sharp said.

To share a tip:

Go to the Huron Undercover Narcotics Team website at huntteam.net to leave an anonymous tip about suspected drug activity in Northeast Michigan or to view annual reports of HUNT activity.

Tips can also be shared at 800-573-3784.