MEXICAN POLICE SEIZING PROPERTY, TONS OF MARIJUANA

MEXICO CITY - Police are in the midst of a pre-Christmas blitz, with
drug raids in at least 14 states and dozens of seizures taking in
about 45 tons of marijuana and scores of homes, hotels, ranches,
yachts and luxury cars.

One of the main targets is Cancun, Mexico's most popular tourist
destination, a glitzy beach town on the country's southeastern coast.
Authorities announced late Monday that they had swept into the state
of Quintana Roo and confiscated 22 homes, four hotels, offices,
restaurants, vehicles and other property.

No one has been charged so far in the state, but the sprawling
investigation into drug trafficking in Cancun isn't over, say
officials in the Mexican attorney general's office.

The most recent seizures so far include the Seguridad Lualli company,
which is in charge of security at Cancun's airport; the Costa Real,
Gran Caribe Real, Laguna Real and Porto Real hotels; and the Mr. Papas
restaurant. Also confiscated were a 1998 Gran Marquis, a black 1993
Cadillac, a red 1996 Corvette, a 1999 BMW, a 1997 Mercedes, two Mint
Special Edition Yamaha motorcycles, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, four
yachts, and other assets.

Elsewhere over the 2 1/2 weeks, Mexican police have intercepted dozens
of large marijuana shipments, including 17 tons in San Luis Potosi
state, 9 tons in Sinaloa state, 3.5 tons in Durango state and 15.5
tons in 11 other states.

Much of the government's law enforcement muscle has been focused on
Quintana Roo, an increasingly hot drug-transit spot during the last
year. Mexican Attorney General Jorge Madrazo has said that the
counternarcotics effort there is immense, involving about 15,000
anti-drug troops.

Cancun, a nearly 9-mile-long resort, is one of the world's leading
tourist destinations, capturing about a quarter of all visitors to
Mexico. U.S. anti-drug agents say that Quintana Roo is also popular
with traffickers, who use the state's sparsely populated coastline to
shuttle drugs north from South America.

In November 1997, Mexico City's Reforma newspaper reported that Mario
Villanueva Madrid, Quintana Roo's governor, had been linked to the
Juarez drug gang, based in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El
Paso.

Mr. Villanueva called the report "defamatory" and "reckless" and took
out full-page ads in at least six daily newspapers. On Nov. 10, 1997,
he asked federal authorities to investigate, and he has been telling
everyone who will listen that he's not connected to the drug business.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry