PATROL TROOPERS SEIZE $100 MILLION IN DRUGS FOR YEAR

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers on traffic patrol have seized
illegal drugs valued at more than $100 million for the third consecutive year.

The 2002 statistics released Monday by the Traffic Law Enforcement Division
show that DPS troopers intercepted illegal drugs valued at $123.8 million
while on routine patrol duty.

Texas troopers have led the nation in highway drug seizures for the last
several years, the DPS said.

"Seizing drugs intended for someone's neighborhood is just one positive
byproduct of our normal patrol activities," said DPS Director Col. Thomas
A. Davis Jr.

Among the trooper drug bust statistics for 2002 were:

*Heroin seizures of 86 pounds, a record for DPS troopers.

*Cocaine seizures of 2,202 pounds, worth an estimated $90.1 million.

*Marijuana seizures of more than 25 tons, or 50,908 pounds.

*A total of 1,780 drug arrests, the second-highest in DPS history.