SUPES BACK TASK FORCE ON DRUGS AGAIN

One of the biggest drug cases here in more than 20 years could not have
been prosecuted without the help of the Tri-County Narcotics Task Force,
the sheriff told the Board of Supervisors in seeking renewal of the agreement.

Citing the results, the Board of Supervisors on April 21 approved continued
participation in the task force for the coming year, joining the counties
of Winston, Clay and Oktibbeha, and the cities of West Point, Starkville
and Philadelphia.

Doyle Callahan, the self-confessed leader of an illegal prescription drug
ring which spanned more than three states, would never had been prosecuted
if not for the work of the task force, Sheriff Glen Waddell told supervisors.

The government entities of each city and county operate the task force
through inter-local agreements that provide the task force with funding and
personnel to investigate drug cases. Each participant serves a two-year
term as the lead agency which includes handling the bookkeeping duties and
serving as a subcontractor to the state. Neshoba is currently serving as
the lead agency.

Additional funding comes from state and federal grants through the Edward
Byrne Memorial State Law Enforcement Assistance Grants within the
Mississippi Department of Public Safety and Planning. Task Force Director
Russell Gaines of Starkville said they've had a productive year. He
appeared before the board to see if the county wanted to continue
participation so he could apply for up to $250,000 in federal grants.

Supervisors expressed unanimous support for the task force, based in part
to Waddell, who recommended the board continue the county's relationship
with the agency. Waddell said the task force was an "extremely valuable
asset" to the county that enabled his department to remain able to fight
drug activity while attending to a growing load of duties elsewhere in the
county.

"Our whole operation has outgrown the department," Waddell said. "It is not
like it was when I took office (in 1985) when I had three deputies and
myself. We didn't have enough then, but we got by." Today, Waddell said his
staff of 11 patrol deputies stays busy with domestic violence cases and
court duties that take up much of their time. "We have so many deputies
tied up with domestic violence cases," Waddell said. "There is not a day
that goes by when we don't have a domestic call."

Waddell said his officers are regularly called upon to serve as mediators
in domestic problems so the incidents do not become bigger problems.
Combined with handling justice court, juvenile court and circuit court
cases, the department is stretched too thin to focus heavily on drugs.

"We're not big enough to have a team of drug officers," Waddell said. "The
task force can totally focus on drug offenses." In his report to
supervisors, Gaines provided a graph showing the amount of drug
investigations in the county for fiscal year 2002, from Oct. 1 through
Sept. 30.

Of all the cases investigated in Neshoba County, the offense of conspiracy
to distribute illegal substances had the highest percentage of the cases at
27.78 percent. Sale of cocaine was second with 20.37 percent and
investigations involving sale of marijuana was 17.59 percent. The remaining
34.26 percent included other offenses combined such as possession, sales,
attempts to possess and search warrants on controlled substances,
paraphernalia and methamphetamine.

There were 108 cases investigated and among the numbers in the
double-digits, conspiracy to distribute was the leader with 30 cases
followed by 22 cocaine sale cases, 19 cases for marijuana sales and 10
cases for sale of controlled substance. Callahan was arrested, along with
14 others, in a pre-dawn raid, dubbed "Operation Laying Down The Law" on
March 29, 2002, at a heavily armed communal compound in rural Neshoba County.

Fifteen others were subsequently arrested on drug-related charges in
connection with the case. Other arrests are expected. The Callahan case was
considered the task force's major highlight case in the past year. Such an
accomplishment takes focus and steady attention, Waddell said. "You've got
to have men out there to take the time it took to get him, and not having
officers called away for other things," Waddell said. "This was one of the
biggest while I have been in office." Referring to one other big case where
a large number of marijuana stalks were found, the Callahan case was
different, the sheriff said.

"This was a big case because it covered different counties," Waddell said.
"It is still going, too." Waddell said he understands the criticism his
department has received from the public at times, but it has often placed
his department in an awkward situation. The sheriff said people would often
complain that there are too many people on the street dealing drugs, but in
many cases there are investigations already under way which officers cannot
admit or freely discuss without jeopardizing their work.

"I have heard the public's frustration," Waddell said. "We have to work our
way through by getting through the smaller people to get the bigger
dealers." Waddell said in the Callahan case, it eventually came down to
some of the defendants having the choice of whether they were going to look
out for themselves or continue to protect the bigger dealers.

"Every time you take one drug dealer off the street, you're one ahead,"
Waddell said. "Although another one usually takes his place." Callahan,
however, is a case which Waddell - who is not seeking re-election - said
very well could continue into the next sheriff's term after he retires.

Callahan was sentenced in March to 146 months in the Federal Bureau of
Prisons after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute Schedule 2 and
Schedule 3 controlled substances such as OxyContin, Dilaudid and Lorcet.

U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate also sentenced Callahan to five years
of supervised release after serving his time. He was fined $2,500 and a
$100 special assessment.

Last November on state charges, Callahan pleaded guilty to three counts of
sale of oxycodone, more commonly known as oxycontin; and one count of sale
of hydromorphone, more commonly known as dilaudid.

Neshoba County Circuit Court Judge Vernon Cotten sentenced Callahan to 20
years with the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Five of those were
suspended, leaving 15 years to serve after which he would be placed on
post-release supervision for five years.

The state sentence was to run concurrently with the federal sentence. As
part of his plea agreement, Callahan will be ineligible to receive
government assistance of any kind for a period of five years after he is
released from custody.

Shortly after the sentencing, Lt. Don Bartlett of the Tri-County Narcotics
Task Force said Callahan, 38, was given points which added to his sentence
for "having a role as an organizer, leader and supervisor of a conspiracy
to distribute the controlled substances."

U.S. Judge Wingate also signed a preliminary order of forfeiture of
Callahan's assets including: 19.3 acres of land, four mobile homes, 23
weapons, $4,000, computers, cameras and other various items.

Law enforcement agencies that participated in the raid along with the task
force were the sheriff's department, city police, and the FBI.