The Pennsylvania State Police has been awarded $1.5 million in a U.S. Department of Justice grant to crack down on opioid distribution across the state.

U.S. Attorney Scott Brady of the Western District of Pennsylvania joined the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services in announcing the funding Wednesday.

Brady said the extra money would be deployed to bolster investigations into trafficking of heroin and synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and carfentanil.

“The trafficking of illegal opioids and methamphetamine remains a threat to the safety of all western Pennsylvanians,” Brady said in a press release. “These critical funds will help our Pennsylvania State Police across the commonwealth continue their work to stop the flow of opioids into our communities.”

The release did not break down how the $1,504,576 grant would be allocated within the state police.

Ryan Tarkowski, state police spokesman, said he learned of the grant Wednesday and had no other information about how it would be used.

It was not immediately known if any of the funding would make its way directly to Butler-based Troop D.

Capt. Charles Gonglik, troop commander, did not return a telephone call Wednesday.

Nationwide, the COPS Office awarded more than $29.7 million in grant funding to 14 state law enforcement agency task forces through the Anti-Heroin Task Force Program, the release said.

The program provides three years of funding directly to state-level law enforcement agencies with multi-jurisdictional reach and interdisciplinary team or task force structures in states with high per capita rates of primary treatment admissions for heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil and other opioids.

The funding will support the location or investigation of illicit activities through statewide collaboration related to the distribution of heroin, fentanyl or carfentanil, or the unlawful distribution of prescription opioids.

Gov. Tom Wolf in January 2018 signed an Opioid Disaster Declaration to address the state's opioid crisis. In December 2019, he signed the eighth renewal of the disaster declaration. The action was taken to help state agencies and other organizations join forces to increase and speed up efforts of prevention, treatment and recovery for those in Pennsylvania affected by the opioid epidemic.

In Pennsylvania, 65 percent of drug overdose deaths involved opioids in 2018, representing 2,866 fatalities, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.