'TRAFFIC' WINS FAVORABLE REVIEWS FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENTS

The Movie "Traffic" Is Winning Awards And Rave Reviews For Its Realistic
Look At The Illegal Drug Trade. Much Of That Praise Is Coming From Some Of
The Toughest Critics, Law Enforcement Agents Directly Involved In The War
On Drugs.

LAURIN SYDNEY, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: The movie "Traffic" is
winning awards and rave reviews for its realistic look at the illegal drug
trade. Much of that praise is coming from some of the toughest critics,
law enforcement agents directly involved in the war on drugs.

Our Paul Vercammen trekked to San Diego and spoke with an agent who put in
his 2 cents, and much more, on "Traffic."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How do you rate that movie?

VINCE RICE, SPECIAL AGENT, DEA SAN DIEGO DIVISION: We'd -- I'd say at about
a B+, I think. It's -- it was done very well. The stories are
accurate. The storyline is accurate.

VERCAMMEN (voice-over): Drug Enforcement agent Vince Rice told detailed
drug war stories to Steven Soderbergh before the director shot a frame of
"Traffic," an Oscar nominee for best picture.

RICE: You walk through the gate there and you're in Mexico. It's that
simple. So we are right on the border.

VERCAMMEN: The often blurred line between Mexico and the United States,
final hurdle between drug dealers and millions of dollars...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come here and check this out.

VERCAMMEN: ... between addicts and a cheap thrill, as seen in "Traffic."
Ports of entry are official jurisdiction of U.S. Customs agents. The rest
of the border is the DEA's lengthy nightmare.

(on camera): How difficult does that make your job?

RICE: Well, it makes it almost impossible, because there's 2,000 miles of
border along the southwest border. I mean, we're talking from the Pacific
Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. To actually monitor the entire border is a --
it's a futile attempt. I mean, we're doing the best we can, of course.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "TRAFFIC")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: We hire drivers with nothing to lose and throw a lot of
product at the problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN (voice-over): Federal agents are on to tricks of the drug trade.

RICE: Sometimes they'll actually swallow the balloons of heroin and walk it
across the port of entry right here, and then when they get inside of the
border, they pass it when they go to the bathroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "TRAFFIC")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: See? Now you see.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Let's do some more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN (on camera): They showed these kids had everything, and yet they,
too, were tempted.

RICE: Well, in -- what that comes down to is that parents need to talk to
their children about drug abuse and drug addiction, and I think a lot of
times they don't. And good kids or bad kids -- it doesn't matter -- you
just need to talk to them. And I think kids get the message. And we've
seen that in this country. We've seen a 50 percent reduction in drug usage
since 1985, because parents are talking to their children.

RICE: This was a controversial scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "TRAFFIC")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: It's an unbeatable market force, man. It's a 300
percent markup value. You can go out on the street and make $500 in two
hours, come back and do whatever you want to do with the rest of your day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: What did that do to you emotionally when you saw that scene?

RICE: I would like to see Michael Douglas respond by saying, "Well, then
how are you going to spend the money?" -- because the IRS tracks it. Every
time you make a deposit over $10,000 in a bank, you have to explain why and
how you earned that money. You can't just spend that money freely like
it's made out in to be here in this movie. It's impossible to do that --
unless you have some extravagant laundering procedure, and a lot of people
don't have that.

VERCAMMEN (voice-over): In the DEA's San Diego office...

RICE: Some of them are dead. Some are just injured in the line of duty.

VERCAMMEN: ... pictures framed in heartbreak.

RICE: You know, we've lost good friends in this drug war, and there's a lot
of good friends on this wall. So you know, it's tough.

VERCAMMEN: Paul Vercammen, CNN, San Diego, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)