OPERATION FROSTBITE SNARES 875 DRUG SUSPECTS

A six-month statewide investigation into illegal drug activity climaxed
Wednesday with authorities arresting more than 875 suspected drug dealers,
ranging from street-level distributors to interstate trafficking rings.

Operation Frostbite identified about 1,000 suspects and authorities will
attempt to arrest the remaining 125, Dale J. Broussard, director of the
Sheriff's Association Violent Crimes and Narcotics Strike Force, said.

About 55 sheriff's offices worked with about 20 other law-enforcement
agencies. East Baton Rouge Parish didn't participate in Wednesday's
arrests, but helped Frostbite on a smaller scale, sheriff's spokesman Lt.
Darrell O'Neal said.

"When something like this happens, I think it sends out a message that
we're not going to put up with this in Louisiana," Attorney General Richard
Ieyoub said.

Every arrest was for a felony crime, authorities said, and most involved
distribution or manufacturing of cocaine or methamphetamine. An arrest in
New Iberia led to the seizure of 6 to 7 pounds of cocaine from a chain
operating out of Tennessee. Other arrests also resulted in the confiscation
of weapons, money and vehicles used in drug operations.

Authorities said they won't know the amount of drugs confiscated or the
largest seizures until all agencies compile their numbers, but the highest
profile cases included five methamphetamine laboratory busts in the cities
of Eunice and Lafayette and in Bienville and Tangipahoa parishes.

"Meth labs have a large capacity to distribute," Sheriff's Association
President Hal Turner said. "The sad part is there's no telling how much
they've made."

Only two arrests turned violent after suspects drew guns on arresting
deputies, but no one was seriously hurt. The suspects suffered
nonlife-threatening gunshot wounds, St. James Parish Sheriff Willy Martin
Jr. said.

Although Acadia Parish Sheriff Ken Goss said 65 to 70 percent of the people
arrested will bond out of jail within 24 hours, many will be arrested
again, resulting in longer jail terms. Those arrested also provide
detectives with information on more drug dealers, he said.

Large-scale operations such as Frostbite are highly effective in rounding
up more people and drugs, although the number of people higher than street
level dealers were unknown at press time, Broussard said.

However, using undercover agents to conduct investigations that lead to one
bust prevents dealers from getting word of arrests and, in turn, fleeing.
Time spent investigating also allows agents to move up the chain of command
in drug rings, possibly leading to leaders, Broussard said.

LSU Professor John Baker agrees.

"It's the only way they can get up the line," said Baker, who tried drug
cases in Orleans Parish and now teaches at LSU's Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
"If you get one big guy, it's much better than more littler ones."

Pooling efforts of federal agencies also provides smaller local agencies
with personnel and high-tech equipment they may not have access to,
Broussard said.

East Baton Rouge sheriff's detectives often work with the Police Department
and federal agents, so they must follow their partners' procedures, which
usually don't include holding warrants. East Baton Rouge Parish detectives
arrested 67 people on 169 drug charges in December, sheriff's spokesman
O'Neal said.

Detectives only hold warrants in cases in which an investigation may be
hindered by arrests of those involved, he said.

Funding is also difficult -- putting together money for overtime for
deputies, for example, Hebert, the Iberia Parish sheriff, said.

The Attorney General's Office helped out with funding in Wednesday's
endeavour, he said. Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement grants provided
Frostbite with 90 percent of its funding, Broussard said.

Round-up arrests also cause back-ups in drug courts and Parish Prison,
O'Neal said.

"If we congest the system, there may be a problem," he said. "We don't want
to put our jail space in jeopardy."

However, Baker said overcrowding is not a significant factor in large-scale
operations such as Frostbite because many prisons are paid to take prisoner
overloads.

As keepers of parish jails, many sheriffs involved in Frostbite planned for
Wednesday's roundup by ensuring space was available, Hebert said.

Surrounding parishes that participated in Frostbite reported the following
results:

In Iberville Parish, the Sheriff's Office, with help from the Plaquemine
Police Department, arrested seven people on drug counts Wednesday morning,
most of whom are accused of selling cocaine to undercover law enforcement
officers, a Sheriff's Office news release said.

The Sheriff's Office still has several outstanding warrants, and these
people will be arrested as they are found and as jail space becomes
available, the news release said.

In addition to those arrested Wednesday, the Iberville Sheriff's Office and
Plaquemine Police have made 18 arrests this month in preparation for this
operation, the release said. Earlier this month, the Sheriff's Office
seized more than $100,000 in narcotics-related asset seizures, the release
said.

In Iberia Parish, Sheriff Hebert said deputies rounded up 34 people from
their 38 warrants.

Suspects booked into the Iberia Parish Jail are all tested for cocaine and
marijuana. Seventy-eight percent of people booked test positive for one or
both drugs, Hebert said. That shows what a big factor drug use is in crime
- -- even crimes not directly related to drug trafficking such as domestic
violence, he said.

Vermilion Parish Ray LeMaire said deputies found 16 of the 26 suspects
Wednesday morning. He stressed that undercover deputies work every day to
build cases.

St. Martin deputies arrested 25 people on 27 warrants. Acadia Parish
deputies arrested 23 of 28. Lafayette Metro Narcotics -- which includes
Lafayette Police and Lafayette sheriff's deputies -- arrested 11 people on
40 warrants.