DRUG BUST GRATIFIES CARTHAGE RESIDENTS

The Sheer Number Of Arrests - 62 - Surprises Many, But Gives Them A Greater
Sense Of Safety.

CARTHAGE - The sights and sounds came and went in this Jasper County town
Wednesday morning: the buzz of police choppers hovering above, shouts from
federal agents and the dozens of armor-clad officers who raided
neighborhoods at dawn, busting suspected drug dealers.

But what's left in this tight community of 11,000 is gratitude and an
increased sense of security. As authorities boast about the arrest of 62
drug suspects in a multiagency effort that spanned several counties, many
in Carthage are still trying to soak in the numbers.

"I was like: 'Oooh, that many people?' That's good," said Mira Spiva, who
lives in Webb City, Carthage's Jasper County neighbor. "They're cleaning up
the city, cleaning up the neighborhood."

Cleaning a neighborhood that most say they didn't know was so dirty. That's
why Wednesday's bust, which authorities say was the culmination of 27
months of work, was such a shock. As in any community, residents say they
knew there was drug activity, but not to the magnitude two undercover
officers - one from the Missouri Highway Patrol and another from the
Springfield Police Department - say they found in the past two years.

And to think, residents say, the officers were working in their community
in secret for more than two years.

"I don't know what to think. It's just a surprise that it was here in
Carthage; this is a nice, very quiet town," said resident Robert
Strickland. "(Authorities) got their number though, didn't they?"

"Operation Cocaine Cowboy" focused on an organization of people who were
responsible for the delivery and distribution of multiple kilograms of
drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, authorities said.

Officers also seized 104 firearms, including assault weapons. One man alone
was responsible for selling 60 guns in the 27 months, authorities said.

Many of those arrested and charged in federal and state courts lived in
Carthage and appeared to be normal working people. They had jobs ranging
from a plant worker to a mechanic. Some were related. There was at least
one husband-and-wife pair, and one of the men charged with possession and
distribution was 63 years old.

A portion of the 62 charged were Hispanic, some in the country illegally.

"This included all walks of life," said Cpl. Dan Bracker, spokesman for the
patrol. "This crossed all economic, gender and racial boundaries."

The Immigration and Naturalization Service was involved in Wednesday's raid
and has been a part of the two-year process. Randall Crimes of the INS
office in Strafford said agents helped officers from many agencies
Wednesday. Those arrested Wednesday who were in the country illegally -
some who were charged in the bust and others who were discovered as
officers served search warrants at Jasper County residences - were taken to
Kansas City on Thursday, and the deportation process was beginning.

As authorities detailed the operation, and talked about how it took two
years to get to Wednesday's raid, many in town were amazed that everything
was going on in secret in their community.

Others, though, were quick to understand what it takes for officers to go
from knowing something on the street to proving it in the courtroom.

"It takes awhile," said Nancy Richardson, who worked the counter Thursday
at Dollars' Worth on Carthage's square.

"You have to prove it. You have to have undercover officers go in and prove
it. You just can't march in and get them. It's not like 'Law and Order.'"

The operation stemmed from a single drug buy in November 1999. The
undercover officer for the Highway Patrol noticed something unusual during
the buy that made him want to look deeper into the drug trade in the
Carthage area, said Sgt. Kent Casey of the patrol's satellite office in
Carthage.

"This trooper began to think, 'There's something more here,'" said Casey.
"That's how it all began."

The trooper and the Springfield police officer got to know the people in
the area, meeting one person in the drug trade, authorities said, who then
introduced them to someone else.

The two officers were able to buy drugs out of cars, houses and even in the
parking lot of a Springfield Wal-Mart Supercenter.

"They just lived among them," Bracker said. "They went where they went.
They were introduced as friends. They did a great job of infiltrating this."