SECRETIVE WORLD IS DANGEROUS

When the Drug Enforcement Administration uncovered narcotics in Nebraska,
the investigation led one of its men to the front steps of a Southwest
Saginaw home.

The federal agency with 4,500 agents throughout the country commonly crosses
state lines and international borders in narcotics investigations, said DEA
spokesman Will Glaspy.

And the breadth of its resources adds measurably to the ability to catch
drug dealers by area law enforcement, most notably the Bay Area Narcotics
Enforcement Team, officials said.

"The DEA has long since seen the benefit of working in a task force
environment," Glaspy said. "We work closely with our state and local
counterparts across the nation."

But as was shown Tuesday, the secretive world of drug enforcement has its
own dangers.

An unidentified DEA agent and Saginaw Township Police Detective Michael L.
Cohee, 31, who was working with Bayanet, were shot and wounded during a
shootout that killed two former convicts. The officers remain hospitalized
in good condition Friday.

The agency has a field office in Saginaw, but agents are reluctant to talk.

"The nature of their job causes them to be more selective in what they talk
about in the news or in the media," said Walter H. Reynolds, supervisory
agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Bay City. "Their
missions are long-term, undercover operations."

Deputy Saginaw Police Chief Thomas J. McGarrity said the DEA has "been very
effective in taking down upper level drug dealers not only here in Saginaw
County, but throughout the Midwest."

The job of a DEA agent is simple to describe but difficult to do: identify
"the most egregious drug traffickers" and their suppliers outside the
country, Reynolds said.

"Of all the violations we work in law enforcement, investigating drug
traffickers are probably the most dangerous," he said

To make the DEA grade, an applicant, who normally has a bachelor's degree,
first has to pass physical fitness, vision, and background checks and a
polygraph test before heading to training at the Justice Training Center in
Quantico, Va.

"It's a rigorous four-month training class to get the recruits prepared for
what they may encounter on the street," Glaspy said. "Drug law enforcement
is a dangerous business, and training is designed to ensure that the new
agents understand what's going on and can take care of themselves the day
they walk out of the academy."

They spend time in the classroom learning special tactics, and the ins and
outs of federal drug laws; on the shooting range to learn how to use
firearms; and on the playing field to meet strict physical standards.

It's similar to FBI agent training, but in some ways more intense, Reynolds
said. The dangers of dealing with drug lords make it that way, officials
said.

"Their behavior is very unpredictable," McGarrity said. "It's a very
protective inner circle, the upper levels."

"There's probably a higher level of danger than most other jobs in law
enforcement simply because of the nature of the people you're dealing with,"
said Saginaw Township Police Chief Stephen C. Renico.

The DEA works closely with area law enforcement agencies, and at times has
treated area officers as one of its own.

Renico said DEA Director John Brown called from the agency's Arlington, Va.,
headquarters to speak with Cohee this week while he was hospitalized. The
agency offered any help it could, Renico said.