SLED CHIEF FLAGS MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS

Top S.C. Cop Warns of New Threat From Traffickers Quietly Leaving
Atlanta and Relocating in Carolinas.

ROCK HILL - Mexican drug cartels are fleeing Atlanta and taking refuge
in suburban and rural parts of South Carolina, the state's top cop
told a Winthrop University audience on Thursday.

Reggie Lloyd, director of the State Law Enforcement Division, returned
to his alma mater with a warning about new threats from the drug trade.

Pushed beyond Atlanta by heavy law enforcement, drug cartels are
leaving the former East Coast drug capital and settling in places with
lighter police presence, Lloyd said. They're quietly gaining footholds
in neighboring Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

"Guess what we know from intelligence?" Lloyd asked 80 students in an
auditorium at Carroll Hall. "All those bad guys, we know they're
actively telling their folks to get out of Atlanta, the heat is too
much.

"We know there's a wave coming."

A 1989 graduate of Winthrop, Lloyd spoke as part of the College of
Business Administration's series on leadership. Lloyd, 43, served as
vice president of the student government and editor of the
Roddey-McMillan Record during his college career.

Now, among other duties, Lloyd supervises drug busts and surveillance
operations as head of SLED. The drug cartels he described have shown
up in York County, said Marvin Brown, commander of the county's
multi-jurisdictional drug unit.

A December shooting that left a man dead in the parking lot of Rock
Hill's Kmart revolved around high-level drug trafficking, Brown said
later Thursday.

"They actually name them such-and-such family or such-and-such
cartel," said Brown. "There's cartels around here. Charlotte's got
their fair share, and they trickle down to York County. They're expanding."

Lloyd and his agency landed in the spotlight last year after Gov. Mark
Sanford's secret trip to visit a lover in Argentina. SLED is tasked
with protecting the governor.

Lloyd made subtle reference to the unwanted attention, though he never
spoke the words "Sanford," "Argentina" or "tan lines."

"I know we got knocked by (Stephen) Colbert and - what's that other
guy's name? - Jon Stewart," Lloyd said. "They make fun of us all the
time. For all the comedic material we provide, we're really not that
much different from anyone else."

That might be debatable, but Lloyd moved on to his own comedic
material, asking all students in favor of legalizing drugs to raise
their hands. A smattering of arms went up.

"We will be putting surveillance on you as you leave," Lloyd cracked.