STEMMING DRUG FLOW

ICE Team Works To Slow Down Drug Traffic Through Jones County.

The proliferation of drugs throughout America is such that no one agency can stop it completely. In many cases the amount of illegal drugs and the money derived from the
trade resembles a flood that has for years spread throughout every
state in the union.

There are a lot of holes in the dike. Law enforcement agencies,
including the Laurel Police Department, are trying to plug those holes.

But even the officers whose task it is to transform that steady flow
into a trickle know the flood gates can't be closed completely.

"We miss more than we get," said LPD ICE (Interstate Criminal
Enforcement) Team officer Chris Walker while talking with the Sertoma
Club of Laurel Thursday. "But we are doing our part to try and get
the drugs, the people responsible, and the money associated with
illegal drug activity."

Walker and the LPD is not alone in this battle that is waged 24 hours
a day, seven days a week. As a result of the Trade Center bombings in
New York City Sept. 11, 2001, the federal government mandated the
tightening of major highways and interstate systems of the United
States in order to put a choke hold on criminal activity traveling
from one part of the nation to another.

It was a sweeping initiative that gave individual agencies the green
light to closely monitor the high volume traffic areas of their
municipalities. The ICE Team not only keeps a sharp eye out for
illegal drugs but also for fugitives on the run, stolen vehicles, and
other such illegal activity. On a major artery of the South such as
Interstate 59, city and county law enforcement agencies have deployed
similar divisions such as the ICE Team to monitor their areas of
responsibilities. The Jones County Sheriff's Office recently has
begun to show a presence in and around Laurel and Ellisville as they
monitor the traffic flow. Meridian and Hattiesburg each have their
teams on the roads as does the Mississippi Highway Patrol who in
addition to always looking for criminals on the highways, now set up
special operations periodically in an effort to shut down, if but for
a short while, the amount of illegal activity. The LPD's ICE Team in
particular are very visible in Laurel. Their black GMC Yukons can be
seen quite often sitting in strategic areas of I-59 as it winds
through the city. In many cases the first indication they are on the
job is when the flashing blue lights are in use as one of the ICE
Team officers are conducting a stop. It is a very hazardous job
wrought with uncertainties. There is never a case where the stop is
routine. Many times the ICE Team officer is all alone with a car
inhabited by multiple persons.

Although backup is only minutes away in the form of other ICE Team
members and the Patrol Division of the LPD, minutes can turn into
hours if a problem suddenly appears. Walker said he has been accused
of profiling, the practice of looking for a particular sort of person
in a particular mode of transportation. He admitted his job is to
catch those who are traveling, using I-59 as a corridor for illegal activity.

In that sense the ICE Team isn't necessarily scrutinizing the local
population. But don't think if they observe you doing something wrong
they won't stop you and give you a ticket. The point Walker was
trying to make is that criminals give out signals as to their
intentions. It is a broader sense of looking guilty.

In many instances Walker has had cars virtually run off the side of
the roadway because the driver is concentrating so much on what
Walker is doing. "We can't stop a vehicle unless they commit a
violation of some kind," said Walker. "But I've had people run right
up behind another vehicle while watching us in their rear view mirrors.

Following too close will get you stopped every time ."

Once stopped, the officers many times deploy their keen-nosed K-9
partners to try and sniff out the drugs.

These highly trained dogs can overcome attempts to throw off their
noses by traffickers. Drugs have been reported discovered when
encased in gas tanks.

It was the hope of the drug runners the fumes from the fuel would
mask the odor of the drugs that despite being tightly wrapped in
plastic and tape, still can give off a smell detectable by trained canines.

"The dog "hit" on the area where the gas cap was on the vehicle,"
said Walker. "It took some doing but we finally found the compartment
that took up half the gas tank space on an SUV. They had to stop for
gas a lot." And when it comes to detecting dirty money, Walker said
the dogs can handle that as well.

"They don't know its money," Walker said. "They just smell the
residue of drugs left when the money is handled by the drug runners."
One such stop yielded $175,000 in drug money.

That's funding for the ICE Team and LPD Narcotics Division operations
sorely needed in this day of dwindling funding.

The fact a K-9 officer indicates there may be drugs on board a
vehicle is enough probable cause for officers to search.

Walker said they still ask permission to search a suspects vehicle
and requests them to sign a consent form. Many times they've gotten
consent because the suspect didn't think the officers could find the
hidden drugs.

There is an arrogance and a perception law enforcement is basically
inept that has led to scores of surprises and subsequent arrests on
the part of the suspects. "This is a very specialized business, doing
interstate interdiction," said Walker. "We know we can't stop the
entire flow of drugs but we sure can do our part to slow it down
considerably, and for short periods of time, stop it completely."

Drugs confiscated since January 2003 that has led to 60 felony
arrests: 1,200 lbs. marijuana 250 lbs. cocaine 110 lbs. crystal methamphetamine