Kasich kicks off statewide sign drive to scare drug traffickers out of Ohio

February 25, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

COLUMBUS

Gov. John Kasich unveiled a new welcome sign for drug traffickers Friday — that is, welcome to prison.

That’s where Kasich and law- enforcement officials hope to put people who sneak quantities of illegal drugs into Ohio.

The new signs, paid for using forfeited drug money, read “Drug Traffickers Go To Prison” and urge motorists to “Call #677” to report suspicious activity.

“We’re telling them, we know what you’re doing; we know you use Ohio as a major artery; and if we catch you you’re going to go to prison,” Kasich said.

The governor announced the new signs during a press conference in Columbus Friday after he addressed the 151st graduating class of the State Highway Patrol.

Since Kasich took office last year, that agency has stepped up its efforts to crackdown on drug traffickers on Ohio’s roadways, seizing nearly 6 million grams of illegal narcotics last year.

Troopers made more than 6,000 drug-related arrests in 2011, up 9 percent from the previous year. They’re ahead of that pace through the first six weeks of 2012.

In addition to the drug-trafficking signs, which will be installed along roadways near the state’s border, Kasich also voiced support Friday for new legislation that would make it a crime to create hidden compartments in vehicles for use in smuggling illegal drugs.