It was on Farson Street in Belpre where undercover agents made a drug buy...which resulted in the arrest of 58-year-old Ola Nichols, Junior. Shortly after the drug buy, which was the result of a public tip, Nichols was apprehended during a traffic stop.

Nichols' home, however, is in Davisville in Wood County...and search warrants were needed to conduct a raid which resulted in the seizure of bags of marijuana...and pot hidden in cigarettes.

"After the purchase of the methadone," says Sheriff Larry Mincks, "the Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force subsequently executed two search warrants over in West Virginia and obtained an additional marijuana package for resale, and cigarettes that were rolled."

And while would-be thieves are still stealing to get money for drugs, authorities say that, in some cases, they're preferring drugs over other types of valuables.

"There's been times they've taken drugs over top of electronics," says Vienna Police Chief Steve Stephens. "It's very irrational, but these are things that you see now."

But beyond the drug case, the raids are an indication that, increasingly, law enforcement agencies on both sides of the river are cooperating to track down illegal drugs, as well as other types of crimes.

"We're committing additional resources to the drug problem," says Don Daugherty, Chief Deputy under new Wood County Sheriff Jeff Sandy, "and we look forward to working closer with the sheriff's office in Washington County."

"I can't say enough about the joint efforts of the two departments," adds Parkersburg Police Chief Gerald Board, "as well as the State Police and the Vienna Police, and everybody else who is involved."

Sheriff Mincks notes that, while methadone is commonly used to treat recovering drug addicts, it also has been used illegally to supply the addictions of others.

"We're having an increase in fatalities due to methadone overdoses. Of course, methadone is used to treat addicts who are addicted to opium. This was about ready to hit the street."

The methadone buy was for $4,100.