STATE POLICE REPORT INCREASE IN 2001 DRUG SEIZURES

AUSTIN (AP) -- Drug seizures by state police increased in 2001 over the
previous year with about $169.4 million worth kept off the streets.

Most of the increase came from cocaine busts. Department of Public Safety
troopers intercepted 2,818 pounds in 2001, an increase of more than 1,000
pounds, the agency said today. Troopers also seized 65,975 pounds of
marijuana. Both totals were the second-highest in DPS history. The value of
the drugs seized was a 33 percent increase over 2001 and second only to
$196 million worth of drugs seized in 1994, according to DPS.

Drunken driving arrests by state police also increased in 2001. Troopers
arrested 32,826 people on drunken-driving charges, compared with 30,891 the
year before.

Troopers also handed out 542,955 speeding citations, wrote 149,184 safety
restraint tickets and provided roadside assistance to almost 52,000 motorists.

Nearly 20,000 people were arrested by troopers for a variety of nondrug
criminal violations, ranging from homicide to auto theft.