OFFICER WINNING WAR ON DRUGS

Sauro Honored For 2001's Biggest Meth Bust

GULFPORT - Lt. Tony Sauro is the type of patrol officer that illegal drug
couriers hate to see.

With his training and experience in detecting crime, the Harrison County
sheriff's officer is likely to find the illegal drugs they've cleverly
hidden once he stops them for a traffic violation.

Sheriff George Payne has publicized a number of Sauro's high-profile,
dramatic arrests in recent years. Sauro has caught not only drug
traffickers, but also armed suspects wanted for murder, robbery and other
crimes.

But Sauro is receiving the ultimate compliment this week when the Drug
Enforcement Administration and U.S. Department of Justice honor him in
Atlanta for having the largest methamphetamine bust on the nation's
highways in 2001.

"He's one of the best in this country at what he does," said Payne.

The award-winning $2.2 million bust came in October after Sauro stopped a
1991 Jaguar because it had no license tag. Sauro became suspicious of the
couple in the car, who consented to a search. He found 53 pounds of meth
hidden under the rocker panels on both sides of the vehicle.

"It's amazing that people agree to a search about 99 percent of the time,"
said Sauro, "maybe because they figure if they agree, you won't bother to
look."

Sauro frequently is asked to train police officers across the nation and in
Canada in the techniques of criminal interdiction, which he describes as
detecting suspicious activity in any kind of situation.

"Stopping a driver for something like not being able to see their license
plate may seem petty," he said. "But if it ends up with a warning ticket
and I explain to the driver about the importance of being able to identify
a vehicle quickly, most times they shake my hand and thank me."

The DEA's efforts to support criminal interdiction means that "one person
can make a difference," Sauro said. "The guy I stop may or may not be
bringing drugs into our own community. But with DEA's follow-up, officers
in other areas can turn around and find the guy with the money behind the
drug trafficking."

Sauro has made thousands of arrests and has been assaulted more times than
he cares to remember.

"Sure, I get afraid sometimes," Sauro said, "but I try to stay as calm as
possible until the danger is over."

"Everyone who wears a badge and carries a gun knows fear," he said, "but
I'm a God-fearing man, and I'm not afraid of dying in the line of duty if I
have to."

The Sauro file

Lt. Tony Sauro of the Harrison County Sheriff's Department is receiving an
award this week for the largest methamphetamine bust on the nation's
highways in 2001. The native of Syracuse, N.Y., has 20 years of experience
in law enforcement and specializes in criminal interdiction, which involves
detecting criminal activity, particularly while he patrols Interstate 10 in
Harrison County.

Present duties: Supervises multiagency criminal interdiction efforts in the
three Coast counties; commands the county's SWAT team; supervises county's
canine and DUI units; teaches criminal interdiction across the nation.

Background: Harrison County narcotics investigator, criminal detective and
corrections officer; security police investigator for the U.S. Air Force.

Education: Graduate of U.S. Air Force Security Police Academy and the
University of Southern Mississippi/Harrison County Sheriff's Department
Basic Law Enforcement Officers Academy. Completed numerous advanced law
enforcement courses. Presently majoring in criminal justice at Mississippi
Gulf Coast Community College.