DRUG TRAFFICKERS USE COLUMBUS, PHENIX CITY HIGHWAYS TO AVOID POLICE

Traffic Shifts From Major Interstate Routes

It makes sense that illegal drugs from Mexico move on interstates to
Atlanta, a hub for the Southeast, and then along spokes to smaller
communities like Columbus.

But drug traffickers often take detours -- and make drops -- in Columbus
before reaching Georgia's capital.

Interdiction teams along Interstate 85 have made plenty of busts in
places such as Montgomery, Ala., and LaGrange, Ga.

Someone worried about being caught while driving through Montgomery
might take state and federal highways to Dothan, Ala., then drive
north to Phenix City and onto J.R. Allen Parkway on the way to either
Atlanta or Macon.

"They're taking alternate routes because of the heat on the
interstate," said Russell County Sheriff's Lt. Heath Taylor. "That
means Columbus and Phenix City are in the middle of it."

Sgt. Rick Stinson, a Columbus police officer with the Metro Narcotics
Task Force agrees. And a Columbus dealer with good contacts, he said,
can convince someone carrying drugs to stop here if it works out to be
easier.

Conversely, a local dealer will drive to Atlanta if that is the route
of least resistance.

Agencies in Metro include the Columbus Police Department, the Muscogee
County Sheriff's Department, the Harris County Sheriff's Department,
the Russell County Sheriff's Department and the Phenix City Police
Department.

Removing Atlanta as a drug hub likely wouldn't change anything,
Stinson said. Certain people will always be willing to provide drugs,
but law enforcement can make it more difficult, just as education
programs such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education aim to stem the drug
tide.

"You're not going to stop a supply as long as there's a demand," he
said. "Somebody's going to step up and probably supply a certain
portion of that demand."

Busted

Local law enforcement has many examples of drug and money busts along
the supply lines. Just a few months ago a Georgia State Patrol trooper
stopped a vehicle headed south with cash to buy drugs, Taylor said. In
Eufaula, Ala., two vehicles were stopped and authorities found money
inside.

A month ago, an 18-wheeler was stopped and found to have around $1
million inside, Taylor said.

Two weeks ago, a former Phenix City police officer who's now with the
state patrol stopped an 18-wheeler near Montgomery. It had a huge
amount of drugs inside, Taylor said.

"All around us there are signs of drug trafficking to Atlanta," the
lieutenant said.

Around March 1, Stinson's eight-member, five-agency team raided a
north Columbus home and found 50 pounds of marijuana, he said. It was
a rental home being used for the drug trade -- a trend law enforcement
has seen in Atlanta as well.

Such houses are usually rented in low-traffic areas. No one would live
there all the time, and neighbors would never see an endless line of
drug buyers lining up. That would draw attention to the home, Stinson
said.

"If you're going to have a lot of dope, you're not going to have
that," he said.

Teamwork

Stinson's team spends its time gathering information and following
leads. They identify major drug dealers with tips from the public,
informants and outside law enforcement agencies.

"We've done wiretaps," he said. "We do a lot of surveillance."

With Atlanta as a hub, the Metro team makes its share of cases in the
capital city. When they're ready to bust a Columbus resident who
happens to be in Atlanta, Stinson will contact Atlanta authorities and
involve them.

"At one time or another, we've worked with every type of agency that
exists," he said. "Believe me, there's no shortage of work."

Drug ring

Some of that work led to what authorities have called the biggest drug
bust in Columbus history. That involved a Beaver Run home, which was
part of a larger investigation that began in 2003, Stinson said.

In 2005, agents seized some $37 million worth of drugs and more than
$600,000 in cash, police have said. More warrants in early 2006 netted
some 119 pounds of cocaine and $141,000 in cash.

The arrests led to Torrance Hill pleading guilty in federal court and
receiving a sentence of 24 1/2 years. Others arrested and connected to
the ring are still waiting for a trial.

The bust likely broke up a huge drug ring in the Columbus area on
which officers are still working leads, Stinson said. However, others
probably stepped in to supply the continuing drug demand.

Stinson noted that the locations of the 2005 drug bust were in north
Columbus, an area some might not associate with drug dealers. Just as
Mexican traffickers will set up shop in azalea-wreathed homes,
Columbus dealers use the same playbook.

But there's always an exception to the rule, Stinson said. He
remembers busting a dealer on a street corner with $10,000 worth of
drugs on him.

"When you're working drugs, you never say, 'Well, if they're dealing
drugs, they'll be in a two-story house,'" Stinson said. "We work all
over."