OFFICIALS REPORT DROP IN DRUG SMUGGLING

The new American war on terrorism has scored an unintentional victory,
though it may be temporary.

Tightened security along the border with Mexico since the terrorist attacks
on Sept. 11 has helped reduce the flow of illegal drugs, as cautious
smugglers from Mexico have cut back on their shipments to avoid having them
seized, Customs officials say.

The officials said that with many more vehicles being searched, the number
of drug seizures had fallen almost by half and the amount of drugs seized
had taken a precipitous drop along the entire border with Mexico in the
past two weeks, compared with the same period a year ago.

"The drug dealers are not stupid," said Dean Boyd, a spokesman for the
United States Customs Service. "They watch us very closely, and they know
we are on maximum alert now, so they just decided not to move their product
for a while, or to look for another route."

But Mr. Boyd said the drop was probably only temporary, and in fact in the
past few days there has been an increase in seizures in some areas,
including El Paso.

"It's a business," he said, "and they've got too much product and people
owe other people too much money not to start trying to move it."

Law enforcement officials said the two-week decline in smuggling was too
small an event to change the overall supply and price of drugs like heroin,
cocaine and marijuana in the United States.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration does not even try to measure
changes in the drug market over such a short period, a spokesman said.

But the temporary drop after terrorists flew planes into the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon was sizable, officials said.

From Sept. 11 to Sept. 23, Mr. Boyd said, 8,707 pounds of drugs were
seized by Customs agents in 123 incidents along the entire border, from
Brownsville, Tex., to San Diego.

In the same period last year, there were 44,160 pounds of drugs seized in
227 incidents, he said.

Mr. Boyd said the Immigration and Naturalization Service also reported
fewer illegal immigrants trying to cross into the United States after Sept. 11.

Within hours of the terrorist attacks, Mr. Boyd said, Customs and
immigration inspectors were stopping and searching as many vehicles as
possible and questioning every pedestrian that entered the United States
from Mexico.

Normally, agents question everyone but conduct searches only when they
think they have grounds for suspicion.