AIRPORT DRUG BUSTS DOUBLED IN 2000

The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport's Drug
Interdiction Task Force last year nearly doubled the number of arrests
made.

Last year 92 people were arrested, up from 48 in 1999. In addition, the
amount of cash that was seized from drug couriers last year - $570,994 -
was up from 1999, when $447,115 was seized.

The drug money, after a judge rules it can be seized, is typically
divided among the state, federal and local police agencies that comprise
the Drug Interdiction Task Force at the airport.

The money is typically re-invested into police equipment to beef up the
task force, said Lt. Glen Frasure, the head of the Airport Drug Task
Force.

Frasure attributes the higher arrest count last year to better
coordination among police agencies in the area and around the country.
He said he investigates which narcotics are gaining in popularity and
what areas of the country produce certain types of drugs.

''If it's illegal, we are going to take a look at it,'' Frasure said in
a recent interview.

''We try to look at the stuff that is having an impact on the community.
And it takes a lot of effort to get it.''

One trend that Frasure has noticed is that the club drug Ecstasy, which
has been made extensively in Europe and smuggled into the United States,
is now being manufactured in California and other West Coast areas.

Frasure said the quality of the West Coast Ecstasy, a pill that causes
the user to be in a euphoric state, is not as good as the European
brands, which have been on the underground market longer.

''The southern California stuff seems to be more ragged. They don't do
as good a job as (Europe),'' Frasure said.

U.S. Customs helps the airport police watch out for Ecstasy on flights
coming in from overseas.

The amount of the drug that was seized last year was down - 585 pills -
from the year before, when 21 pounds were seized.

The amount of marijuana seized in 2000 - 846 pounds - was up
significantly from 1999, when 531 pounds were seized.

Forty-five pounds of cocaine were found last year, compared with 41
pounds in 1999.

Heroin seizures were up in 2000, with 10 pounds being seized, compared
with 7.9 pounds in 1999.

Airport police reported seizing 2.7 pounds of crack cocaine, a cheaper
version of powdered cocaine, in 2000.

There were no seizures of the drug in 1999.

The Drug Interdiction Unit reported seizing 3.5 pounds of
methamphetamines last year, compared with no seizures of the drug in
1999.

Meanwhile, airport police reported finding no Ketamine last year,
compared with finding 2,880 milliliters of the drug last year.

Ketamine is a general anesthetic that drug users evaporate to form a
powder that is snorted.

The drug creates an intoxication and delirium.

One drug that has become increasingly popular during the past year but
hasn't shown up in airport arrests yet is OxyContin, a prescription
painkiller that has flooded the underground market.

Assistant U.S. Attorney E.J. Walbourn said OxyContin apparently hasn't
been shipped in large quantities through the airport.

''It's a prescribed drug that we usually wouldn't see at the airport,''
Walbourn said.

Walbourn noted that most of the drug arrests at the airport involve
low-level couriers who are paid to transport narcotics.

''The kingpins are adept at insulating themselves from the lower-level
people,'' Walbourn said.

(SIDEBAR)

Largest drug shipment

The largest drug shipment that was intercepted at Cincinnati/Northern
Kentucky International Airport in 2000 was 10 pounds of heroin that is
worth about $600,000 on the street.

Luis Miranda of Huntington Park, Calif., was stopped Dec. 15 on a
layover from Los Angeles to New York City.

Authorities became suspicious of Miranda after checking his flight
patterns and learning he had made 14 non-stop trips in recent months.
Miranda agreed to a search and authorities said they found the heroin in
his luggage.

Miranda was indicted in January.