N. TEXAS NAMED HIGH-INTENSITY DRUG ZONE

Area eligible for more enforcement money

North Texas has received its long-awaited designation as a High Intensity
Drug Trafficking Area and stands to reap as much as $5 million in additional
anti-drug money next year, federal officials said Thursday.

Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey named Dallas, Tarrant and Collin counties as part
of the new 13-county North Texas zone, making the area eligible for money
recently approved by Congress.

U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins and Special Agent Julio Mercado, head of the Drug
Enforcement Administration's Dallas office, requested the designation more
than a year ago. Lobbying intensified in the last year with the wave of
heroin-related deaths in the Dallas area.

"I'm ecstatic that it finally came through," Mr. Coggins said.

Agent Mercado predicted the infusion of cash and equipment will enable about
50 local, state and federal agencies to wage a more efficient war against
drug rings in the area, which has a population of more than 4 million.

"We've identified 86 different drug organizations in North Texas and
Oklahoma," he said. "The majority are in Texas. We'll know who the enemy
is."

High-intensity spending, already used in Houston and El Paso and proposed
for East Texas, helps encourage cooperation among local and federal police
agencies.

"The illegal use of narcotics and the trafficking of narcotics are the root
of much of the violent crime in North Texas," said Mr. McCaffrey, White
House drug policy director.

Agent Mercado said he has worked in the San Juan, Puerto Rico,
high-intensity area, which yielded almost immediate results.

"In the first year of operation, we took out three major drug
organizations," he said, adding that one of the groups was responsible for
at least 40 deaths. "We'll be able to do that here, now."

More than 100 investigators from member agencies will be housed in one
building, which will contain an intelligence center that should allow
investigators to track drug distributors more quickly, Agent Mercado said.

"Everybody can get a clearer picture of what is going on in North Texas," he
said. "It's long overdue. There is a problem in Dallas that must be
addressed."

Agent Mercado and Mr. Coggins said the Dallas area has become a major
collection point for heroin, cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamines and other
illegal drugs shipped to other cities nationwide.

They emphasize that 40 percent of those drugs remain in the Dallas area,
many of them sold to teenagers.

The heroin-overdose deaths of 18 young people with Plano ties since 1994
have made national news. In July, a 50-page federal indictment for dealing
heroin and cocaine in Plano was issued against 29 people, 16 of them
students in Plano schools.

Dallas police officials, who have supported the high-intensity designation
as a tool for coordinating anti-drug efforts, said Thursday they were
pleased with the new designation.

Police Chief Ben Click supports information-sharing between law enforcement
agencies, calling the job of battling transnational drug networks too
diffuse for a single department.

"Chief Click believes it will be very beneficial in our fight against drug
trafficking in Dallas," said Sgt. Jim Chandler, a department spokesman.

The North Texas area includes Dallas, Collin, Denton, Ellis, Henderson,
Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Lubbock, Parker, Rockwall and Tarrant
counties.

Congress voted $5 million in spending for the North and East Texas areas in
the fiscal year that begins next month, although the money needs final
congressional and White House budget approval.

East Texas isn't expected to receive final approval for several months,
leaving most of next year's money for North Texas, officials said.

The North Texas zone can begin operating soon with a $250,000 stake from the
drug czar's office, officials said.

Houston was one of the first zones approved for the high-intensity program.
The money has helped police there discourage trafficking, said Sen. Kay
Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.

"Houston has made great strides, and the dealers have started to come to
Dallas," she said.

Administration officials credit Ms. Hutchison with leading the congressional
fight for funding, aided by Dallas-area House members.

"We've had tremendous support from our politicians in Washington on both
sides of the aisle," Mr. Coggins said.

North Texas becomes the 21st drug-trafficking zone named under the federal
program, which began in 1990. Selecting the high-intensity zones has become
very political, said Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas.

"But we were able to get the drug czar to say that Dallas was the most
deserving, non-HIDTA area," he said.

Staff writer Dave Michaels in Dallas contributed to this report.

Checked-by: Don Beck