DRUG MONEY

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - Nearly a half-million dollars in drug-smuggling
funds seized along the U.S.-Canadian border will go to police here to
combat drug trafficking, federal immigration officials said Thursday.

The forfeited money - totaling $430,909 - comes from five smuggling
cases broken up by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials and
state and local police.

Plattsburgh Police Chief Desmond Racicot noted the city, located
directly off Interstate 87, sits squarely along a major smuggling
route and the money will help the department keep drugs from reaching
local streets and schools.

The Plattsburgh department has dedicated a city detective to
Immigration and Customs as part of a partnership aimed at fighting
drug smuggling at the border.