ALBUQUERQUE HEROIN USE UP, DRUG CZAR SAYS

Report Cites Increased Dealing And Use Of Mexican "Black Tar" Heroin In
Albuquerque.

WASHINGTON -- In spite of drug crackdowns, a new federal report says
trafficking and use of Mexican "black tar" heroin is increasing in
Albuquerque, and methamphetamine abuse is "increasing rapidly" across the
state.

The 216-page report by President Clinton's drug czar, Barry McCaffrey, also
acknowledges that sophisticated drug smuggling across the Southwest border
has increased under the North American Free Trade Agreement, which
unintentionally made it easier for smugglers to hide illicit narcotics
entering the United States in commercial shipments.

"The large commercial infrastructure, enhanced by NAFTA, provides 'masking
opportunities' for drug-trafficking organizations, which have become
extremely sophisticated at concealing drugs and money in vehicles, cargo or
trains crossing the border at the various ports of entry," the report says.

The report describes the war on drugs in 31 battlegrounds across the United
States, including the Southwest border, in the wake of increased efforts to
get state, local and federal authorities to coordinate drug crackdowns
nationwide. Congress this year allocated $190 million in taxpayer funds to
so-called "high-intensity drug trafficking areas" across the nation -- up
from $25 million allocated in 1990.

McCaffrey said New Mexico's open and largely uninhabited desert areas
bordering Mexico have traditionally been prime smuggling zones. But in the
past five years, he said, increased cross-border commerce has resulted in a
sharp increase in drug smuggling in both highway- and railroad-freight
shipments.

"Drug traffickers are increasingly exploiting the NAFTA provisions, which
bring about significant increases in commercial trade," the report says.

While Mexican marijuana remains the most commonly abused drug, the report
says that "the availability of Mexican black tar heroin continues to
increase in Albuquerque and Las Cruces, and both brown and white heroin
have been encountered in recent seizures. Gangs facilitate much of the drug
distribution that occurs at the street level, and are responsible for much
of the drug-related violence in the region."

The report linked Albuquerque's drug rings to "West Coast California gangs"
and said that outlaw motorcycle gangs continue to operate the region's
methamphetamine supply line.

McCaffrey said that with the extra congressional funding, federal, state
and local authorities are increasing intelligence-sharing and targeting
border areas. The funding is also paying for Drug Enforcement
Administration multiagency task forces in Albuquerque and Las Cruces to
focus on local drug-trafficking groups.

The report said there has been a surge in methamphetamine trafficking and
use across the Midwest and Northwest of the United States, and that drug
trafficking is no longer largely an urban problem.

"What we really have is a series of local drug epidemics," McCaffrey said.