DRUG SEIZURE MONEY TOPS $10 MILLION

Nearly $10 million and more than 4,600 pounds of drugs have been seized in
the last three years by a local drug task force, but authorities say they've
barely touched on the illegal activity. Oklahoma County First Assistant
District Attorney John Jacobsen said those numbers create an alarming
picture of local drug activity.

"The scope of the illegal drug activity is epidemic," Jacobsen said.

The Oklahoma County district attorney files about 500 to 600 forfeiture
cases a year, Jacobsen said.

Almost $5 million has been forfeited and about 500 cases filed for the year.
This doesn't include nearly $2 million -- because of possible appeals --
seized from two Illinois men.

Those men denied knowing who owned the 157 bundles of money wrapped in duct
tape and hidden in the roof of their vehicle when they were stopped May 16
on Interstate 35 for having an illegal tag displayed.

One of the men said he would rather not say how he got possession of the
money. The other man said he didn't know where the cash came from.

Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane filed forfeiture paperwork to get
the $1,913,839, because he thought the cash was drug money.

District Judge Noma Gurich awarded the prosecutor the money after no one
stepped forward to claim it.

Prosecutors routinely turn to civil forfeiture proceedings for money,
property and vehicles associated with illegal drugs, gambling and
racketeering. But such a large forfeiture is rare.

The bulk of the seizures are the result of work by the Central Oklahoma
Metro Interdiction Team, referred to as COMIT, a multiagency drug task force
made up of Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County officers and operated out of
the district attorney's office.

The drug forfeiture statutes were enacted in 1971. The state Legislature
seven years later passed a law creating the drug revolving fund that is to
be used at the discretion of the district attorney.

The forfeited money pays for COMIT operations and helps operate the district
attorney's office and fulfill sharing agreements among the agencies in the
task force, Jacobsen said.

Some opponents are critical of district attorneys because they claim
prosecutors are pursuing the money and not the criminal case.

Jacobsen disputes that.

"We never look at forfeitures as a steady way to supplement our budget,"
Jacobsen said. "We know it's not a for-sure thing."