84 MILITARY PERSONNEL CONVICTED IN DRUG CASE AT CAMP LEJEUNE

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C., July 3 - One of the largest military drug
investigations in recent years has led to the conviction of more than 80
enlisted marines and sailors at Camp Lejeune for using and selling Ecstasy,
cocaine, LSD and methamphetamine. The service personnel, along with 99
civilians, were arrested in a two-year undercover investigation that also
resulted in the seizure of more than $1.4 million in drugs.

All the convicted marines and sailors received dishonorable discharges and
confinement ranging from 3 to 19 years, said Special Agent Robin Knapp of
the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

The investigation began in February 2000 after Camp Lejeune officials
learned that a large number of service members were frequenting clubs where
drugs were prevalent in Wilmington, N.C., about 40 miles south of the base.

Drug charges were filed against 84 active-duty service members, none of
them officers. Sixty-one of them were accused of distributing drugs and 23
were accused of using drugs. All but two were convicted in military court,
Agent Knapp said.

The investigation was conducted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service
office, along with state and local authorities. Agent Knapp called the
arrests "significant" but not extraordinary.

Maj. Steve Cox, a spokesman for Camp Lejeune, pointed out that the 84
people involved were only a small fraction of the 50,000 to 60,000
active-duty personnel at the sprawling coastal base.

"It's not an epidemic by any means," Major Cox said. "From a Marine Corps
perspective, we view drug use as a societal issue. We would be naive to
think our marines are not using drugs."

Although narcotics cases in the military are not rare, they usually involve
smaller numbers of people.