RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Attorney General Mark Herring says Virginia has joined a seven-state task force to combat heroin distribution and overdose deaths.

The other states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Heroin Task Force are New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Maine.

Herring says that by sharing information and collaborating on leads, authorities in the participating states will be better equipped to dismantle large-scale drug operations that are trying to profit off of addiction.

According to the attorney general, Virginia’s geographic location and makeup of large cities, ports, and busy highways and transportation hubs make it vulnerable to drug trafficking.