PETERSON: WAR ON DRUGS IS WORKING IN BELTRAMI COUNTY

Beltrami County has been holding its own in the war against drugs,
says Gary Peterson, supervisor of local drug task force efforts.

"Our efforts are unique in Minnesota, and probably in the United
States," Peterson, a Beltrami County deputy assigned supervise the
task forces, told Beltrami County commissioners last month.

A state-funded task force, the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force, operates
out of Bemidji and includes officers from many local city and county
jurisdictions. The Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force, funded through
the FBI, is also headquartered at Bemidji, and is responsible for
drug enforcement efforts on area American Indian reservations.

"We have the benefit of two task forces here, with two Beltrami
County deputies on each," Peterson said. "The FBI furnishes vehicles
and gas to all on the task force, as well as cell phones and overtime
up to $15,310 a year. These are dollars that don't have to come out
of county budgets."

The Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force handles a lot of smaller cases, he
said, but investigations may lead to larger cases that would come
under federal jurisdiction, calling in the Safe Trails Task Force.

"They could end up with federal prosecution," Peterson said.

The work speaks for itself, he says, as the task forces have done in
the past year:

. 98 arrests, both felony and misdemeanors.

. 50 search warrants executed for controlled substances.

. 12 undercover drug buys.

. 37 drug buys by confidential informants.

. 17 presentations by task force officers to civic organizations.

. 26 assists to other law enforcement agencies and task forces
outside the area.

. 15 federal indictments for drug offenses.

. 18 guilty pleas from previously indicted federal defendants.

Along the way, the drug task forces have seized about 6 ounces of
crack cocaine, 11 pounds 6 ounces of powder cocaine, 1 pound 7 ounces
of methamphetamine, 70 dosage units of Oxycontin, 10.45 pounds of
marijuana and $22,320 in U.S. currency.

Peterson also said the task forces have taken 48 firearms off the
streets, including 15 assault rifles, two sawed-off shotguns, two
stolen handguns and three fully automatic submachine guns.

"These statistics would be considered good anywhere," he said.
"Eleven pounds of cocaine is a huge amount -- selling at $100 a gram.
That's some serious money."

The Red Lake Band of Chippewas initially pulled out of the Safe
Trails Task Force, but Peterson said the task force still operates on
the reservation, as all officers are cross-deputized as federal
agents and the Red Lake Police Department recognizes that authority.

The Red Lake Tribal Council "had a difference of opinion" in puling
out, Peterson said, but the band's public safety director, "sees it
as an officer safety issue too. ... We do go up there, even though
there is no signed memorandum of understanding.

"The work is getting done, as we have special federal jurisdiction,"
he added. "The Sheriff's Office, however, can't pursue (suspects) on
the reservation."

As a result, significant results have been logged, Peterson said, citing:

. The long-term investigation of a drug trafficking organization
based out of the Red Lake Reservation resulted in 35 federal
indictments, including two Red Lake police officers. More than 5
kilograms of cocaine and 1 pound of meth were seized, in addition to
three dozen firearms and $10,000 cash.

"This was the first major case where dealers using Red Lake as a safe
haven from local authorities were targeted by the Safe Trails Task
Force," Peterson said, using jurisdiction through special
deputization from the federal government.

. Leech Lake tribal officers executed a search warrant that resulted
in four arrests, the seizure of an assault rifle and cash, and the
disruption of a crack manufacturing operation. Two of the people
involved were charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minneapolis.

. A collaborative effort between the task forces and the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal
Apprehension in the Twin Cities resulted in an investigation of
Hispanic drug dealers who were supplying large quantities of meth to
the task force area. In addition to local undercover purchases, more
than two pounds of meth were seized in the Twin Cities and federal
indictments were handed down by a grand jury.

The work could be jeopardized, however, Peterson said as federal
appropriations are expected to diminish, and the state has already
tried to eliminate funding for state drug task forces outside of the
Twin Cities.

An important part of the task force is continuing education, he said,
which costs money. Included are FBI street survival courses,
undercover school, search warrant writing, wiretap training, asset
forfeiture and computer forensics.

It is hoped the federal funding will be available in 2009, and that
the state may pick up that portion after that.

Also key locally, he said, is that Beltrami County Sheriff Phil
Hodapp serves as chairman of the task forces, and that the Beltrami
County Auditor-Treasurer's Office serves as the task forces' fiscal agent.

Cass and Hubbard counties have left the Paul Bunyan Task Force, and
Lake of the Woods and Roseau counties may leave after Jan. 1,
Peterson said. Meanwhile, Mahnomen County and the White Earth Tribal
Police Department have joined the task force.

"The Leech Lake Tribal Police is on a hiatus from the Headwaters Safe
Trails Task Force due to a manpower shortage, but we continue to
respond to their requests for assistance," he said.

The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs will be assigning a full-time
investigator to the Safe Trails Task Force by year's end, he added.

Beltrami County is a member of both task forces, as are the Bemidji
Police Department and Clearwater and Mahnomen counties and White
Earth Tribal police.

The federal task force also includes the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms, Minnesota BCA and Minnesota Department of Corrections.