POLICE SEEK HUNDREDS IN DRUG CRACKDOWN

HAZARD, Ky. - In what officials described as Kentucky's largest crackdown
involving illegal drug activity, police began arresting 211 suspected drug
traffickers yesterday.

Shortly after dawn, more than 100 federal, state and local officers started
serving warrants in eight Appalachian counties stemming from raids in which
more than 1,700 prescription pills were seized and at least $34,000 in drug
money was confiscated. The arrests resulted from a series of three-month
investigations by a new task force that targets street-level dealers in the
region. The roundup was expected to eclipse the 207 drug dealers arrested
three years ago in an operation called Oxyfest 2001, the largest previous
investigation.

In the February 2001 operation, authorities said OxyContin - a prescription
painkiller that is crushed and then snorted or injected by users to produce
a heroin-like high - had killed 59 Kentuckians in the previous year, many
in the eastern part of the state.

The prescription drug epidemic still exists, and this week's roundup
represents the start of an all-out assault on the problem, said U.S. Rep.
Harold "Hal" Rogers, whose 5th District includes much of Appalachian Kentucky.

"WE'RE HERE united to send a message to those who are ravaging our
communities," Rogers said at a news conference announcing the arrests.
"This problem is tearing at the moral fiber of society, and we can no
longer sit by and do nothing." Rogers said the operation was the start of a
cooperative battle against "the worst scourge we've ever faced" in the region.

The arrests were part of the first major initiative by Operation UNITE
- -Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment & Education - a federally
funded program based in Hazard.

By late yesterday afternoon, police had arrested 115 of the 211 people they
were seeking, said Leslie Cupp, a spokesman for Rogers. More arrests are
expected today, she said.

Those arrested were taken to the Rural Law Enforcement Center in Hazard -
some still in pajamas - for booking and later to jails around the region.

A majority of the arrests yesterday were made in Perry County and involved
prescription drugs, including methadone, OxyContin and Xanax, said Dan
Smoot, head of law enforcement for the program.

Perry County Sheriff Pat Wooton said he welcomed the effort to battle a
problem that has devastated his community. "At the local level, we no
longer feel like we're standing alone out there, that we're helpless,"
Wooton said.

GARY OETJEN, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's assistant special
agent in charge in Kentucky, said yesterday that abuse of OxyContin remains
the largest drug problem in Kentucky. And authorities said the problem
could worsen now that federal regulators have approved a generic form of
the drug that will soon be available.

"We're bracing for a resurgence," Smoot said after the news conference.
"It's a scary thing."

But in Southeastern Kentucky counties, including Laurel and Whitley, most
Operation UNITE investigations involve methamphetamine, said Karen Engle,
executive director.

Oetjen said sales of prescription drugs over the Internet also have
contributed to the problem.

Lt. Gov. Steve Pence, who also is the state's justice secretary, said
anti-drug initiatives including Operation UNITE and the state's proposed
plan to expand drug courts provide long-term solutions to the problem.

"We're just beginning this battle," Pence said at the news conference.

OPERATION UNITE was launched in November. Rogers helped obtain $16 million
in federal funds over two years for the program, which has three
components: increased investigation, treatment for addicts and expanded
education to prevent drug abuse.

The program serves 29 counties and employs 33 detectives in three task
forces that investigate suspected drug activity, which residents are
encouraged to report to a tip line.

The task forces cover the Big Sandy region that includes Pike County, the
Kentucky River area around Hazard and the Cumberland Valley region from
Harlan County to Wayne County.

A special prosecutor has been assigned to Eastern Kentucky to help
prosecute the surge in drug cases stemming from Operation UNITE investigations.

Martin Hatfield, an assistant U.S. attorney, said his office has plans to
fund four more prosecutors to help local commonwealth's attorneys deal with
the increased caseload.

The tip line number is (866) 424-4382.