OBAMA BEEFS UP DRUG RING SECURITY

U.S. Targets Canadian Border

The Obama administration is strengthening efforts to intercept and to
break up drug rings smuggling narcotics across the Canada-U.S. border
under an agreement announced Thursday that will see a sharp increase in
the number of immigration and customs agents conducting raids and making
arrests.

Under the deal, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will have the
power to authorize an unlimited number of agents to investigate
cross-border drug crimes.

While aimed primarily at helping the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
address the overwhelming challenge of fighting Mexican drug cartels along
the country's southwest border, administration officials made it clear
they also will be watching the Canada-U.S. boundary.

"Stay tuned. You are going to see a lot more activity out of the DEA and
ICE," said John Morton, the assistant secretary of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement.

"This is a national effort. And from ICE's perspective, we are going to be
paying attention to the northern border, and also to our air and maritime
ports as well."

The agreement reached Thursday is designed to end decades of turf wars
between the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Immigration and
Customs agents over who has the power to investigate drug trafficking at
the country's borders and ports of entry.

Until now, Immigration and Customs could authorize only 1,475 of its
roughly 6,500 agents to investigate drug cases at any given time.
Immigration and Customs officials have long claimed the limit severely
hampered their efforts to break up drug-trafficking operations,
particularly on the southern border.

"I think everybody, now, with the situation with the Mexican drug cartels
and their impact on our country, everybody sees the significance of
agencies working together in a co-ordinated, systematic, surgical way,"
said Michele Leonhart, acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement
Administration.

The new deal gives Homeland Security the sole discretion to designate as
many immigration and customs agents as it needs to take on drug smuggling.

Morton refused to say how many more agents would be conducting drug
operations along the Canada-U.S. border, or the boundary with Mexico.

"It will be something short of every agent."

But officials pointed to two recent drug busts along the Canadian border
as examples of the type of large-scale operations that can be expected in
the coming months and years.

On Wednesday, Immigrations and Customs agents in Buffalo, N.Y., arrested
19 people alleged to be involved in smuggling Canadian-made ecstasy pills
across the International Peace Bridge. ICE agents said the international
bridges in Buffalo and Niagara Falls had become major -- and growing --
trafficking routes.