FEDERAL DRUG GROUP ADDS LOCAL PERSONNEL

Stepped-up drug enforcement in Buffalo is being promised with the addition
of more city, county and state resources to a federal drug task force.

Two Buffalo detectives, one from the Erie County Sheriff's Office, as well
as personnel and equipment from the State Police are being devoted to a
local Drug Enforcement Administration task force to concentrate on major
narcotics investigations and cracking drug rings exclusively within
Buffalo, police officials said.

"This will enable us to increase our ability to do long-term narcotics
investigations in the city," said Buffalo Police Commissioner Rocco J. Diina.

Equally important, however, is that it frees up the Buffalo Police
Department's Narcotics Unit to focus more on the city's daily drug
activities, citizens' concerns about street dealing and complaints about
neighborhood drug houses.

"Our goal is to improve the quality of life in the City of Buffalo," Mayor
Anthony M. Masiello said. "By attacking the drug problem from both the
street level and having a task force going after higher-level dealers, we
hope to accomplish that goal."

Masiello, Diina and law enforcement officials from the DEA and State Police
are expected to announce the task force expansion this morning at Police
Headquarters downtown.

Local law enforcement agencies have had personnel assigned to the DEA task
force for decades, said Lt. Larry Baehre, Buffalo police spokesman.

But more recently, police approached federal officials with the idea of the
DEA task force taking the lead on larger, long-term investigations. Because
drug cases often overlap agencies, this would allow more coordination
between federal and city detectives, police said.

Federal officials agreed as long as local authorities provided the added
manpower needed.

Now authorities are hoping this leads to more drug roundups like the one on
Moselle Street and Box Avenue in June.

Not only did that bust net 13 suspects, $150,000, three guns, quantities of
crack cocaine and marijuana, but it put a "big dent" in that neighborhood's
drug trade.

"That investigation lasted over six months," said Donald Augustine, special
agent in charge of the Buffalo office of the DEA. "We utilized undercover
purchases of crack cocaine, extensive video and electronic surveilance,
financial analysis, as well as interviews of cooperating witnesses."