AUTHORITIES SEIZE 5,000 POUNDS OF ILLEGAL DRUGS ON I-44

Drug Pipeline

STRAFFORD, Mo. (AP) -- Drug traffickers may increasingly be using
tractor-trailers to haul marijuana and cocaine across country as airport
security continues to tighten as part of the war on terror, authorities
believe.

State troopers have uncovered more than 5,500 pounds of illegal drugs so
far this year at busy Interstate 44 weigh stations in Joplin and Strafford,
Cpl. Dan Bracker, spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Troop D
in Springfield, said Wednesday.

Shipments seized along I-44 in southwest Missouri are drawing attention to
what some in law enforcement say could be a trend of using roads instead of
air to run drugs. Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio and Wyoming have all seen sharp
increases in drug seizures along interstate highways since the Sept. 11
attacks.

"It appears they're getting more creative since Sept. 11," said Sgt. Dan
Banasik, a state trooper assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration in
Springfield. "It's definitely harder to detect on tractor-trailers because
there are so many of them on the road."

Commercial vehicle inspectors who work the weigh stations in southwest
Missouri are particularly shrewd in ferreting out illegal cargo on wheels.
The 5,283 pounds of marijuana and 327 pounds of cocaine found between Jan.
1 and Sunday is believed to be a record, Bracker said.

Most of the drugs are found in hidden compartments, although some couriers
try to sneak it into crates of produce or other goods. A few are so brazen
they don't bother hiding it, Bracker said.

The drugs generally are picked up along the Mexican border, authorities
said. Drivers likely enter Missouri through Oklahoma or Kansas on the
east-west interstate. Most are bound for Chicago, Detroit, Indiana or Ohio.

While southwest Missouri appears to be on pace for a record year, there has
not been an increase at the other 21 weigh stations across the state, said
Capt. Chris Ricks, spokesman for patrol's headquarters in Jefferson City.

"I-44 is an entry point for the state from the southern part of the
country, so it would be typical for that area to see an increase first,"
Ricks said.

I-44 has earned a drug "pipeline" distinction because it's part of the
transcontinental highway system linking Texas with the two coasts.

The number of drug arrests and seizures has climbed steadily in southwest
Missouri since 1996, when 3,300 pounds of marijuana were found. Records
show 8,156 pounds of marijuana and 128 kilos of cocaine were seized in 2001.

While others are speculating more drugs are being transported over the road
by those who want to avoid the heightened security at airports, Bracker
said there likely is no single explanation for the increase in southwest
Missouri.

"We don't know if they're concerned about an impending war and they're
trying to get as much moved through the border before it happens, or if it
is something else," Bracker said.

Dick Thomas, chief commercial vehicle inspector in charge of the southwest
Missouri weigh stations, credits his staff for being overly curious about
the vehicles they let pass.

At the Strafford station Wednesday on eastbound I-44, Thomas remained
vigilant as he watched commercial vehicles roll across the scales.

Thomas pulled one driver aside after discovering he was using three
logbooks -- two more than allowed -- and his gasoline receipts didn't add
up. With the driver's consent, a trooper sifted through the cargo of
eggplants. Nothing unusual was found, so the driver was allowed to resume
travel.

Although inspectors are reluctant to give away secrets, they say many
things can raise suspicion: poorly maintained vehicles, weight scale
readings that don't match the cargo records and nervous drivers.

A driver was arrested Feb. 21 after an inspector noticed the vehicle
weighed more than his log listed. He called a trooper, who determined the
rig's interior was shorter than the 53-foot exterior. A drug dog eventually
led authorities to a wall hidden behind 13 pallets of boxes filled with
household-grade sponges. The compartment contained 2,377 pounds of marijuana.

As authorities make more traffic stops, drug traffickers likely will get
craftier, Banasik said.

"As soon as we catch on to their transportation methods, they're going to
change it," Banasik said. "They try to stay one step ahead of us."