WAR ON TERROR AIDS WAR ON DRUGS

The Issue: Stiffer Security At Honolulu Airport Has Resulted In More
Drug-Trafficking Arrests.

SECURITY measures heightened by the terrorist threat have brought a dividend
in crime control: a dramatic increase in the arrests of people carrying
illicit drugs at Honolulu Airport. Technology eventually should result only
in fools trying to transport drugs on commercial airlines.

With the increased airport security presenting a daunting obstacle to drug
runners, Hawaii's law-enforcement agencies are wisely paying more attention
to shorelines as a drop-off point for drugs. That effort could bring success
in intercepting a wide array of contraband.

In the six months before Sept. 11, authorities made two drug arrests and
seized less than $200 worth of street drugs at the airport's checkpoints.
Since then, random searches of carry-on baggage and body pat-downs have led
to 30 arrests and seizure of $273,000 worth of illegal drugs.

Ed Howard, acting supervisor of the state Narcotics Enforcement Division,
credited screeners for private security companies -- International Total
Services, Wackenhut and Akal Security -- for spotting the drugs and
notifying authorities. The arrests indicate that the much-maligned companies
are responding well to increased requirements.

New equipment could produce an impervious security system, but one that
might cause discomfort among some travelers if used even randomly. The new
X-ray systems can detect odors from explosives or drugs, determine the
contents of a closed bottle and see through clothes in -- ahem --
extraordinary detail.

Tests of six of the systems were begun at the Orlando, Fla., airport this
week by National Safe Skies Alliance, a nonprofit organization that
evaluates new security devices and reports its findings to the federal
Transportation Security Administration. Three systems will focus on carry-on
baggage and the other three on passengers, but only those who volunteer.

One system, made by OSI Systems Inc., shows every inch of the contour of a
person's body. Security officials say it will be used only when a passenger
shows an "anomaly," and then only by a security worker of the same sex. The
American Civil Liberties Union fears the device will be used
indiscriminately to conduct "a virtual strip-search."

Another system, made by Barringer Instruments Inc., blows quick bursts of
air at a person. It is capable of detecting any odor from its library of 40
types of explosives and 60 types of drug residue.

"The ability to use technology to be able to stop some of the drug
trafficking, we're always looking for the opportunity to deal with that war
as well," Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood said while showing off the equipment
last week.