Representative Steve Knight held a roundtable discussion Monday focusing on the ongoing opioid epidemic and the efforts being made to combat human trafficking, in conjunction with a Texas lawmaker.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, joined Knight during the discussion to provide his point of view.

“It’s something we need to address from a law enforcement standpoint, but also from a treatment standpoint,” said McCaul.

Although Santa Clarita is the third largest city in Los Angeles County, it’s vulnerable to issues such as human trafficking and drug abuse.

Since Santa Clarita is near the Los Angeles and San Pedro ports, a lot of the goods that go north go through the valley, according to Knight.

“It doesn’t always fit the narrative of communities, but we felt that the only way we’re going to tackle it is acknowledging that it is an issue,” said Santa Clarita City Councilmember Cameron Smyth. “That’s what makes Santa Clarita different; we’re all here willing to acknowledge there’s an issue.”

In Santa Clarita, the number of opioid deaths has fluctuated since 2011 with 11 overdose deaths, the highest count since that year, according to Captain Robert Lewis, who leads the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

So far, 2018 has seen seven opioid deaths, and that number is slowly increasing.

“It’s coming our way and it’s going to be coming stronger and stronger,” said Lewis.

With an increasing amount of overdose deaths, more fentanyl is appearing and becoming easily accessible.

“We’re seeing fentanyl’s, primarily from China, go through the U.S Postal Service,” said McCaul. “Thousands of pounds are coming into the country on a daily basis.”

Fentanyl is a narcotic used as pain medication, but is also made illegally and used as a recreational drug.

Opioid abuse is currently killing 115 people per day in this country, surely an epidemic, according to McCaul.

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“We want to prosecute the people providing these drugs, and the people who are victims, treat them as victims,” said McCaul.

According to the round table members, Santa Clarita is an easily accessible corridor to travel north, where most drugs and human trafficking exists.

“It’s expanding not just in the urban cities, but into suburban America,” said McCaul.

These two issues go hand-in-hand within the realm of illegal activity.

“Within LA County, the majority of traffickers are gang members that have gone from slanging dope, to girls,” said Captain Kent Wegener who leads the human trafficking bureau.

In California, intent to have sex with a minor is against the law.

“Almost all of our sex trafficking victims here in LA County are domestic, they’re not from across the border,” said Wegener. “They’re mostly girls that have been abused and victimized at an early age and are susceptible to these predators.”

The most effective approach to both of these issues is a regionalized approach where municipal departments are on board with task forces to combat drugs and trafficking in communities, according to officials.

“It’s not unusual to put someone away for the rest of their life for a human trafficking-based charge because there are so many associated charges,” said Wegener.

And although law enforcement has a budget allocated for these operations, funding is still needed in order to review and close cases.

“There’s a lot of funding for the service providers. What we don’t have is a lot of funding for the law enforcement side,” said Commander Chris Marks of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s detective division. “They identify the victims in the field.”

“It’s really human slavery in our lifetime,” said McCaul.

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