AIRPORT ARRESTS FOR DRUGS SKYROCKET

Sometimes the stuff is stashed in hefty duffel bags. Sometimes it's
hidden on the smuggler's body as drug couriers haul their illegal
merchandise pound by pound through Nashville International Airport,
authorities say.

And the numbers are going up.

Drug arrests at the airport rose about 400% from 1999 to 2000, and
officers now are catching five to 10 suspects a week on drug-related
charges, said Harry Sommers, resident agent in charge of the Drug
Enforcement Agency's Nashville office.

Behind the rise in arrests are Nashville's growing population, the
easy connections to other cities that the airport offers, and the
increasing popularity of methamphetamine among users of illegal drugs,
he said.

"I would say it's a fairly average airport," Sommers said of
Nashville. "It's not Miami, Chicago or LAX (Los Angeles International
Airport), but it's not a quiet little sleepy place anymore, either.
As the airport and the city have grown, so has (drug) traffic."

Sommers declined to be more specific about drug-related arrests or the
number of drug seizures because he said criminals might use any
specifics to their advantage. Sommers also didn't try to guess on
overall levels of trafficking.

His agency works with Metro and Williamson County officers on a drug
task force assigned to airport duty. Sommers declined to say just how
many officers are assigned, although the numbers have risen, along
with the increase in trafficking.

Methamphetamine, an addictive stimulant, is often made in small labs.
But as more people start using the drug, authorities will see the drug
come in higher volumes from large labs in Mexico via so-called source
cities in California and Texas, he said.

No methamphetamine was seized at the airport in 1999, Sommers said,
but authorities seized 8 pounds in 2000 and 25 pounds so far this year.

Among the methamphetamine seizures was one shipment of about 13
pounds, "body-wrapped" to a courier in a holster-like contraption
made from duct tape, said Metro Assistant District Attorney General
John Zimmerman. The suspect hid his extra weight under a large jacket
and just looked like "a bulky guy."

Zimmerman, who prosecutes drug cases, called the task force "highly
effective" in terms of cocaine, marijuana and, now, methamphetamine
busts. Sommers said airport seizures of cocaine and marijuana had
stayed level from one year to the next.

Airport travelers are unlikely to notice officers chatting with
suspects, Sommers said. Any lengthy conversations take place away from
public areas.

"It would probably be pretty seamless to you," Sommers
said.

Drug couriers can be men or women, often ages 20 to 50, Sommers said.
He said he was not aware of any children or elderly people working as
couriers, who can make $5,000 to $10,000 for transporting illegal drugs.

His agency largely uses tips to track couriers. "We receive
information from around the world."