[Skip to Content]
ALERT! In observance of the holiday: County of Berks offices and buildings will close to the public from 12 PM, December 24, 2024, through December 25, 2024 (reopening 8 AM, December 26, 2024) and 12 PM, December 31, 2024, through January 1, 2025 (reopening 8 AM, January 2, 2025).

Please note – 24/7 operations at the county courthouse and services center will remain operational.

Narcotics Enforcement

Narcotics Enforcement

The Berks County Narcotics Team is the drug enforcement arm of the Berks County District Attorney’s Office. This team’s mission is to investigate drugs and narcotics trafficking operations, violations of firearms laws, prostitution and human trafficking activities and illegal gambling investigations existing within the City of Reading and the County of Berks. The Berks County Narcotics Team assists the City of Reading Police Department Vice and Narcotics Section, the Pennsylvania State Police Vice Unit and all local county police departments with drug and violent crime investigations. The District Attorney’s Office has additionally assembled the Berks County Human Trafficking Taskforce Enforcement Team.

The teams are supervised by Lieutenant Nelson Ortiz, who reports directly to Chief County Detective Michael Gombar. There are eleven (12) detectives and one civilian Intelligence Analyst which are divided into two groups with Sergeant Todd Harris and Sergeant Pasquale Leporace each responsible for five (5) individuals. The Human Trafficking Taskforce Enforcement Team is led by Cpl. James Gresh. 

The Berks County Narcotics Team and has personnel assigned with the Drug Enforcement Administration Office (DEA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), whose offices are located in Allentown and Reading, PA. One of the detectives is assigned to the Auto Theft Taskforce and works with the Pennsylvania State Police.  The Berks County Drug and Human Trafficking Taskforces have over seventy (70) law-enforcement officers participating, which includes federal agents, state troopers, city and county police officers. The Berks County Detectives have many years of experience and training not only in drug and violent criminal investigations but in the use of electronic surveillance equipment, photography, video, and physical surveillance techniques. All of the detectives are Class “A” certified and one two (2) detective is Class “B” certified to utilize electronic surveillance, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 57, of Title 18, with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Eleven (11) detectives are qualified as experts in the field of drug identification and investigations with the Berks County Court System and four (4) detectives are qualified as experts in the Federal Court System.