ASHCROFT HAILS NEW ANTI-DRUG TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE

NEW YORK - U.S. authorities on Thursday unveiled a Manhattan task
force dedicated to taking apart the world's most sophisticated drug
trafficking groups.

The task force will bring together more than 200 law enforcement
officers from nine federal, state and city agencies, U.S. Attorney
General John Ashcroft announced.

"The work of freedom will be done here. The work of justice will be
done here," Ashcroft said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the task
force office in the Chelsea neighborhood.

The Strike Force initiative is designed to improve communication among
federal, state and city anti-drug officers and decrease competition
among the agencies, which officials say can hamper the fight against
drugs.

Ashcroft made the announcement with David Kelley, the top federal
prosecutor in Manhattan, and officials from the Internal Revenue
Service, the city police department and other agencies.

But absent was Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, who said
in a statement he was worried the task force might undercut existing
partnerships in drug enforcement in New York.

He noted the city special narcotics prosecutor's office was excluded
from the task force, in a decision that could "significantly exclude
the effectiveness of narcotics enforcement in New York City."

Officials said the headquarters will cost about $2.2 million per year
in rent, paid for by drug trafficking assets seized by the task force.

For example, some of the $20 million seized in a crackdown earlier
this month on a Colombian drug cartel will go to the task force,
Ashcroft said.