PLANE THAT SNIFFS OUT DRUG SMUGGLERS NEST IN TAMPA

They are the bird dogs of the air, the AWACS crews who search the airways
for planes bringing cocaine and heroin to American shores, and direct
authorities to their location.

The Boeing E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System is unmistakable because
of the enormous radar dome atop the 707 fuselage. Once a smuggler is
located, the crew either contacts a U.S. Cus toms aircraft to trail the
plane or alerts law enforcement teams in countries such as Colombia where
they could land.

``Obviously, the U.S. military is not going into Colombia and Peru and shoot
them up,'' said Canadian air force Maj. Jim ``Nigel'' Maunsell, who commands
the 12th EAACS stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, and works for
the U.S. Southern Command in Miami.

The Canadian military involvement with AWACS is a continuation of NORAD, the
North American Aerospace Defense Command. There are 33 planes in the fleet,
one of which is used at the Air Force's Electronic Systems Center at Boeing
in Seattle.

Each plane costs more than $270 million, including research and development,
parts, spares and equipment. At a cost of hundreds of millions more, the
fleet is being upgraded for a tracking system that America has come to rely
upon during war.

First delivered to the Air Force in 1977, the planes are expected to be used
until 2035. They are in demand worldwide.

THE PLANE THAT FLIES from MacDill must sift through all the air traffic
coming from South and Central America and detect those transporting cocaine,
heroin and marijuana. When the crew succeeds, they often don't hear the
details of the seizures because they are 30,000 feet above the action.

``We want to know what happened,'' Maunsell said. ``We end up with
fifth-hand rumors and by the time it hits us, John Wayne was there.''

The crew of 23 usually fly for 10 to 12 hours, though, as in Desert Storm,
they can be kept in the air for 24 hours, switching between teams of crew
members. Similar to air traffic controllers, who take a break after every
hour of work, the airmen who watch the radar screens switch out after two
hours of trying to decipher the various trails they see 200 miles around
them.

Smugglers come up with ingenious ways to fool the trackers. In the mid-90s,
some switched from small planes to 727s rigged so drugs could be kicked out
the back at low altitudes. They emulated passenger traffic, staying in
civilian airline lanes. The trick was discovered when one of the planes
landed at an airport and a drug-sniffing dog was overpowered by sensory
overload.

The AWACS here expect to move to a staging area in Manta, Ecuador, by Oct.
1, 2001. Until then, the crews say they are happy here. ``One of the reasons
we're here in Tampa is the safety aspects at MacDill,'' Maunsell said.

Of the 730 metric tons of cocaine that passed through Colombia this year,
about 350 metric tons comes to the United States, according to the Air
Force.

THE AWACS PARTICIPATED in 67 arrests or seizures this year, helping
confiscate 65 metric tons of cocaine worth $3.2 billion and 6 metric tons of
marijuana worth $71 million. Those efforts resulted in 193 arrests and 48
aircraft and vessels seized or destroyed, the Air Force said.

The problem is that most of the cocaine arrives in freighters coming to
American ports. Though the AWACS can detect and track ships and boats, it is
hard to sift through the numerous freighters because they don't distinguish
themselves the way the planes do by avoiding radio contact and tailing
legitimate aircraft.

``The entire yearly shipment [350 metric tons] can come in one ship,'' Air
Force Maj. Bill Tully said.

The state-of-the-art plane is just one part of the American military
anti-drug effort. The choppers and planes of the Coast Guard patrol vast
stretches of the Caribbean, often spotting smugglers hugging the coastline
of Cuba, where they have some protection from U.S. forces. Similarly, when
the AWACS fly over countries such as Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, the crew
must have someone from that country's military on board to direct troops to
landing zones, labs or crash sites. More often, small planes drop cocaine
shipments to waiting ``go-fast boats,'' which then ferry it to islands or to
the United States.

AIR STATION CLEARWATER, the largest air station in the Coast Guard, has a
fleet of 13 H-60 helicopters and seven C-130 planes that patrol the
Caribbean as part of the interdiction efforts. They are complemented by
three Army Blackhawk helicopters based in Great Exuma in the Bahamas.

The success of the AWACS has made them attractive to other countries.
Because the technology has improved quickly, other nations are seeking
alternatives to the 707, which is no longer being produced. Japan has taken
delivery of their first plane using the radar ``rotodome'' in a 767, and
Australia is interested in a 737 Boeing with a digital radar dorsal fin.

Unless an outboard engine fails, the radar dome doesn't interfere with the
feel of the plane.

``You can't even tell that it's there,'' Capt. Wayne Kodama said.