GAO SAYS DEA EVIDENCE PROCEDURES LAX

"There is an inherent risk of theft, misuse, and loss of drugs,"
reports the General Accounting office in a November report, "Seized
Drugs and Weapons", (online at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/ai00017.pdf),
that looks at how poorly the Drug Enforcement Administration, which
seized more than 275,000 kilograms of illegal drugs in fiscal year
1998, kept track of such evidence. The report suggests that some runny
noses at the DEA may not simply be due to the common cold. "Weaknesses
related to DEA's accountability over drug...evidence...included (1)
incomplete and missing drug evidence documentation, including chain of
custody documentation, (2) inaccurate recordkeeping of...evidence, and
(3) improper accounting for drug weights, including unverified and
unexplained weight differences in drug exhibits.