BATTLE AGAINST DRUGS A FRUSTRATING TASK

Drug dealers who are put in jail are easily, and often, replaced by others
looking to make an illegal buck. The Beaufort County Multi-Jurisdictional
Drug Task Force continues to make undercover "controlled drug buys" and take
dealers and users off the street one at a time, but it is admittedly a
frustrating, perhaps neverending, effort, said Sheriff P.J. Tanner.

The Sheriff's Office on Monday released its semi-annual report of the Task
Force's activity for 2003, showing hundreds of indictments. But Tanner
acknowledges their work has just begun.

The numbers tell "only part of the story," Tanner said. They only show where
the Task Force met success in fighting drugs in Beaufort County, but cannot
tell the tale of thriving drug businesses that operate under the radar of
police.

Master Sgt. Jo Jo Woodward, the Task Force's drug commander, said
intelligence, undercover operations and a bit of luck will slowly chip away
at the drug problem in Beaufort County.

"We only gotta be lucky one day a year, whereas (criminals) have to be lucky
every day of the year," Woodward said.

In 2003, the Task Force's work led to 102 indictments after controlled drug
buys using confidential informants or undercover officers, and the Sheriff's
Office has made three times that many controlled drug buys in other pending
cases, Tanner said.

The Task Force seized $79,424 in cash, vehicles valued at $43,161, and 27
weapons, and they filed 613 drug-related charges, the numbers show.

Most of the charges, 153, were for possession of marijuana. Crack and
cocaine dealers also took a hit: 24 charges were filed for sale and
distribution of crack cocaine and 11 charges were filed for possession with
intent to distribute crack cocaine; while eight charges were filed for sale
and distribution of cocaine and five charges were filed for possession with
intent to distribute cocaine, the Sheriff's Office said.

Most of the drug offenses, 91, occurred on Hilton Head Island. The Sheriff's
Office reported 56 drug-related charges in Beaufort; 51 in Burton; 36 on St.
Helena and Lady's islands; 27 in unincorporated Bluffton; eight in Bluffton;
six in Sheldon, Dale and Yemassee; and one in Port Royal.

The Task Force includes an undisclosed number of officers from the Sheriff's
Office and Sgt. John Gobel of the Beaufort Police Department.

Among the Task Force's techniques are drug information collection and
storage, use of informants, controlled drug buys, reverse "sting"
operations, surveillance, interdiction methods and undercover operations.

Tanner said he believes 80 percent of crimes are related to drugs as addicts
seek ways to support their habits.

To anonymously report a suspected drug crime, call 757-1575 x300.