Drug smuggling

NARCOTICS SEIZURES SHOW FEDERAL HELP IS OVERDUE

Of the various and sundry items that could conceivably make a nylon coat
warmer, heroin must surely rank as the most unique. But that is exactly what
a Drug Enforcement Administration task force at D/FW International Airport
found sewn into the lining of nine coats Sunday - Colombian white heroin.

Weighing more than 17 pounds, the seizure made a hot day in June even
hotter: The case turned out to be the largest heroin bust at D/FW ever.
Along with two other major drug seizures involving heroin and cocaine at the
airport this month alone, the incidents prove that the worst fears of law
enforcement officials have come to pass: North Texas has become a major drug
trafficking region. "We're in a real crisis," says Paul Coggins, the U.S.
attorney for the northern district of Texas.

Now if only the federal government will recognize the fact that Dallas is in
danger of becoming another Miami. Unfortunately, there continues to be an
inexplicable delay in designating Dallas as a High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Area. Such a move may sound merely cosmetic, but it could, in
fact, result in additional funding for drug-related investigations.
Congressman Sam Johnson and Congressman Pete Sessions are working to
introduce an amendment that would allocate $5 million for Dallas' HIDTA
designation.

Mr. Coggins estimates that only 10 percent of the drugs smuggled into the
country are interdicted. But that hardly means drug traffickers are not
taking a hit, and that they would not be hurt much more if the seizures
increased. Even though the nearly $12 million worth of heroin seized Sunday
was expensive enough, it could have been worth up to $40 million after
dilution for street sale.

As more and more young people in North Texas suburbs like Plano continue to
succumb to heroin, a HIDTA designation could significantly enhance local
drug-fighting capacity. While drug demand can create drug supply, it's
equally true that drug supply, through effective marketing and enticement,
can create drug demand.

Against that backdrop, it's up to Congress and the Office of National Drug
Control Policy to make North Texas' HIDTA designation a much higher priority.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett