DRUG LORDS RECRUIT U.S. SERVICEMEN

Smuggling: At least 50 Marines and sailors suspected, some for trafficking
from Mexico through Camp Pendleton.

SAN DIEGO -- The military has encountered an unexpected enemy in its war on
drugs: U.S. servicemen smuggling marijuana and cocaine into California for
Mexican drug rings.

At least 50 Marines and sailors have been investigated for drug running
``in recent years,'' according to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Eight military probes involving 20 Marine and Navy suspects were launched
in the past year alone, officials said in response to a Los Angeles Times
inquiry.

And investigators said five of the cases involved Marines suspected of
driving narcotics through Camp Pendleton, apparently to help traffickers
avoid the Border Patrol checkpoint on nearby Interstate 5.

Officials refused to provide names of the suspects or other details about
the smuggling cases, including how many were prosecuted or convicted.

The number of service members implicated in smuggling is small compared
with the more than 100,000 sailors and Marines stationed in the San Diego
area.

But the development represents an insidious twist in the corrupting
influence of the drug trade, which previously has spawned bribery
investigations and convictions of several federal border agents.

Records show that some servicemen who were arrested by federal drug agents
worked for major Mexican drug rings. Authorities say most, if not all, of
these rings have ties to the violent Arellano-Felix cartel of Tijuana,
Mexico, that funnels tons of cocaine and marijuana into the United States.

Officials were reluctant to discuss the investigations because a number are
ongoing. However, some acknowledged privately that they are surprised and
dismayed that any servicemen were involved in smuggling at a time when the
military has been used to help stem the flow of drugs across the border.

``Overall, we don't consider (military drug smugglers) a (big) problem,''
said a senior federal law enforcement official who spoke on condition of
anonymity. ``But it's one that interests us because you don't expect
military personnel to be involved in drug smuggling.''

In one case, an active duty Marine sneaked marijuana shipments into the
United States by using a rubber speedboat to elude Coast Guard and Navy
radar. Under cover of night, the drugs were delivered to waiting vehicles
at San Diego County beaches.

Military authorities said some servicemen were recruited at Tijuana
nightspots and allegedly were paid to transport drugs across the border in
private vehicles. Marines and sailors, they said, evidently were chosen
because their clean-cut looks made them less likely to raise suspicion
among border inspectors and to be searched.

Debbie Hartman, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney here, said her office
does not track convictions by occupation and does not know how many
servicemen have been convicted of smuggling.

Pentagon officials said they do not know how many servicemen have been
court-martialed and convicted for drug smuggling -- or how many from each
branch are now under investigation.

In the last two years, U.S. Customs Service agents have investigated 10 to
15 cases of active-duty military men and reservists involved in narcotics
trafficking, according to a federal official familiar with the probes.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski