The State Highway Patrol says increased efforts to crack down on drug trafficking and other crimes are paying off with more calls from the public to its revamped hotline and greater use of its unit that follows up on tips and helps other agencies.
The #677 number replaced the old hotline a year ago. The patrol gets more than 4,000 calls per month and has begun trying to track more specifically how many come through the hotline.
Troopers urge people to call in tips about impaired drivers, drug activity and other crimes. The patrol's superintendent says the quantity and quality of tips exceeds expectations.
In one case, a tip about a suspicious tractor-trailer along Interstate 70 led to troopers seizing $2.8 million worth of cocaine near Springfield.