DUTCH DRUG RUNNER AFRAID TO GO HOME - OPTS FOR PRISON

A Dutch man who flew to Memphis last year with more than 6,000 tablets of
Ecstasy opted for federal prison Friday rather than deportation to the
Netherlands.

Saying he feared retribution from his Dutch drug suppliers, Kenneth Julius
Caupain of Amsterdam first explored the possibility of deportation to
France so he could join the Foreign Legion.

But U.S. Dist. Court Judge Jon McCalla told him that wasn't possible. It
was either immediate deportation to the Netherlands or federal prison and
then deportation.

Caupain chose the latter, and McCalla sentenced him to 18 months in prison.

Caupain, 20, turned himself in to Memphis police last September and handed
over 6,160 tablets of Ecstasy, the popular hallucinogenic club drug.

Caupain told authorities he was supposed to deliver the drugs to someone
here and then return to Amsterdam with the money.

But the other person, who is not named in the federal complaint againt
Caupain, didn't bring the money.

Caupain told police that when he refused to let the other man have the
drugs without paying, he took Caupain's return plane ticket to Amsterdam.

With no money and no plane ticket, Caupain called police. He's been in
federal custody ever since.

He was indicted by a federal grand jury in October on a charge of
possession of drugs with intent to distribute. He pleaded guilty in February.

At Friday's sentencing hearing Caupain told McCalla that he feared
reprisals from his unnamed drug suppliers if he returned to Amsterdam.

"They said I better not talk," Caupain told the judge.

Caupain's attorney, Ralph Sivilla, told McCalla that Caupain had been
exploring the possibility of seeking deportation to France so he could join
the Foreign Legion.

Established in 1831, the Foreign Legion is a French military unit open to
any non-French citizen between 17 and 40.

Because it is often dispatched to remote regions of the world, the legion
has a reputation as a haven for men seeking to avoid prison or escape a
troubled life.

But McCalla said the law allowed him to deport Caupain only to the Netherlands.

He and Sivilla questioned Caupain closely about his choice of federal
prison time and eventual deportation instead of immediate deportation.

"You like federal prison that much?" McCalla asked.

"His problem is going back to the Netherlands," Sivilla responded.

When he completes his 18- month prison term, Caupain is to be deported to
the Netherlands.

But McCalla left open the possibility that Caupain can make his case to the
Immigration and Naturalization Service for deportation to some other country.

Caupain is the second person from Amsterdam to face federal drug charges
for bringing Ecstasy to Memphis.

Dorothy Ingrid Leijen, also of Amsterdam, was indicted March 27 in an
unrelated case.

Customs officials at Memphis International Airport searched Leijen as she
walked into the airport terminal. Federal authorities say the search turned
up seven pounds of Ecstasy.

Leijen has entered a not guilty plea and is awaiting trial.