MORE FUNDS SOUGHT TO STOP ILLEGAL DRUGS

DEA: Agents Stretched Thin Since Sept. 11

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Illegal drug trafficking in the Caribbean is up 25
percent, probably because traffickers see an opportunity with U.S. law
enforcement focused on terrorism, Drug Enforcement Administrator Asa
Hutchinson said Wednesday.

Hutchinson couldn't say whether the rise would translate into more drugs
coming into the United States.

Like other law enforcement agencies, the DEA has been stretched thin since
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he said.

"The traffickers see a window of opportunity in the Caribbean as a result
of assets that had to be marshaled in our port security and our homeland
security," Hutchinson told the House Coast Guard and Maritime
Transportation Subcommittee.

More than 100 DEA agents have been pressed into service as marshals aboard
airplanes and another 40 DEA intelligence analysts are working closely with
the FBI.

"We've got to have the funds to replenish any assets that are taken away
from the Caribbean," Hutchinson said.

Without more money, he said, it's doubtful the United States will meet its
2002 goal of intercepting 18 percent of illegal narcotics headed for U.S.
shores.

Last year, federal agents seized about 11 percent of drugs.

Hutchinson's remarks about funding relate mainly to the Coast Guard, the
agency primarily responsible for drug enforcement along the coast.

The Coast Guard has estimated that as much as 75 percent of its assets --
personnel and boats -- have been pulled away from drug interdiction for
anti-terrorist patrols.

The Coast Guard is trying to come up with an estimate for Congress on how
much additional funding it will need to continue its homeland security
efforts in addition to its traditional work, which includes immigration and
fisheries enforcement.

Hutchinson said the estimated 25 percent increase in Caribbean drug
trafficking is based on several factors, including intelligence and a rise
in the DEA's investigative caseload.

The increase covers a period of several weeks since Sept. 11.