TOP LAW OFFICERS PAY TRIBUTE TO SURRATT'S 30 YEARS

For almost 30 years, Steve Surratt has fought drug traffickers in eastern
North Carolina. On Wednesday night, his colleagues honored him for his
dedicated service.

Surratt, a Goldsboro resident, retired May 31 as the special agent in
charge of the 23-county Northeast District of the State Bureau of
Investigations that stretches from Wayne County to the Virginia line and
east to the coast.

The program at the American Legion building was as much a celebration of
Surratt's service as it was one final time for his law-enforcement friends
to poke fun at the way he did it.

Surratt received many plaques of appreciation, but he also got the highest
honor bestowed on a North Carolina citizen by the state, the Order of the
Long Leaf Pine, from the state's top lawman, Bryan Beatty, the secretary of
the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety and a former director of
the SBI.

Beatty said Surratt had a stellar career with the bureau, including a long
stint as a drug agent and a term as president of the N.C. Narcotic
Enforcement Officers Association.

One of the bureau's assistant directors, Al Stevens, said Surratt was "an
agent's agent. Nobody could chase a doper like Steve Surratt could. ... He
locked up a lot of bad people in North Carolina."

Surratt's first big drug case was investigating and arresting members of
Ike Atkinson's international heroin smuggling ring from 1978 to 1982. The
ring "had flooded eastern North Carolina with heroin," Surratt said and
"had tentacles out all over eastern North Carolina." Forty people were
indicted because of his work.

In 1986, Surratt also initiated and implemented the state grand jury
program to investigate major drug traffickers. The first cases were in
Brunswick and Bladen counties.

Then he worked for seven years to end a far-flung drug trafficking ring
that stretched from North Carolina to Texas and Mexico. The investigation
started in Wayne and Lenoir counties and led to the arrest and conviction
of about 250 traffickers.

U.S. Attorney Eric Evenson said the cases Surratt worked on required strategy.

"These people would just as soon cut your heart out as look at you," he
said. "His job required late-night work, dealing with the bureaucracy in
getting judges to sign orders. It took its toll, but I never saw Steve wane
in his effort."

Evenson called Surratt the Cal Ripken of the district, referring to
baseball's "iron man." Only a limited number of people can do these cases,
he said. "We are suffering with your loss today," the attorney said.

One of Surratt's bosses, Melanie Thomas, an assistant director of the SBI,
presented him with a certificate of appreciation, his badge, his weapon and
his credentials. The director, Robin Pendergraft, then read a letter of his
career accomplishments.

But several speakers made fun of Surratt's fondness of travel at state
expense and his scheming. Malcolm McLeod, a retired SBI agent, said Surratt
was "world famous for these trips I call junkets. He would have made a
wonderful congressman." McLeod noted that Surratt was elected president of
the state drug agents' association and "hadn't worked a drug case in 15 years."

Surratt helped form the Goldsboro-Wayne County Drug Squad with Robert
Stocks and Jimmy Snipes. Retiring Goldsboro Police Chief J.W. Warrick Jr.
thanked Surratt for his work in the Atkinson case on behalf of beat cops.