Today, we are joined by Alfred "Chip" Cooke, Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of the US Drug Enforcement Administration's Merrillville District Office for the special two part series Inside the Fentanyl Crisis in Northwest Indiana. A 21-year veteran of the DEA with a distinguished career in dismantling transnational criminal organizations, ASAC Cooke now oversees federal drug enforcement for Northern Indiana.
In part one of this series Regionally Speaking host Dee Dotson discusses the front lines of the synthetic opioid crisis in Northwest Indiana. Due to its immediate proximity to Chicago one of the nation’s largest drug distribution hubs Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties faces a unique set of challenges. As fentanyl remains the leading cause of drug-related deaths in the Hoosier state, we will explore the DEA’s current strategies for interdiction, the influence of Mexican cartels in across state lines and what 2026 holds for the safety of these communities.
Coming up in part two on this two part series titled Inside the Fentanyl Crisis in Northwest Indiana We’ll be asking ASAC Cooke how parents and teachers in the Region can spot the digital signs of danger and what they need to say to their kids before a pill press becomes a tragedy you can also listen to this conversation again by visiting our website www.lakeshorepublicmedia.org or you can see the video podcast version by visiting our YouTube channel by clicking the link https://youtu.be/A30n6EMNAuw?si=NPWJ7-RUpNWOk57h.
About Alfred "Chip" Cooke: Alfred "Chip" Cooke oversees DEA operations across northern Indiana, including Northwest Indiana, South Bend, and Fort Wayne. Mr. Cooke arrived at DEA Merrillville in 2021 having previously served in a variety of senior leader roles at DEA Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Mr. Cooke began his law enforcement career in 1996 in San Diego, California as a United States Border Patrol Agent. In 2000, Mr. Cooke was hired by DEA as a Special Agent and has since been assigned to the DEA Baltimore, Maryland District Office, DEA’s Special Operations Division, where he served as Liaison to the National Security Agency, and to DEA Headquarters.
