DRUG BUSTS, TRAFFICKING IN 2-STATE AREA UP BIG

Toledo Major Crossroads; Hiding Spots Imaginative

Those crazy drug dealers. They'll hide their goods anywhere to avoid
detection by law enforcement.

Among the more imaginative hiding spots related by authorities in northwest
Ohio and southeast Michigan: Inside the gas tank or a hidden compartment
within a vehicle and inside a horse trailer - with the horse still inside.

And then there was the marijuana stuffed inside the shipment of hot peppers.

But area law enforcement agencies are the ones turning up the heat.
Authorities report that area drug seizures have skyrocketed over the last
couple of years.

"It's a double-edged sword," said Capt. Don Kenney of the Toledo police
special enforcement bureau. "Yeah, we're getting more productive, but that
means there's more out there too."

Vehicle stops have jumped since Sept. 11, when drug traffickers were forced
to forgo airplanes and trucks primary means of transport and turn to
private vehicles.

The Ohio Highway Patrol has seized about $2.2 million worth of drugs - from
marijuana to "magic" mushrooms - and $125,000 in drug money on the Ohio
Turnpike in western Lucas County since Dec. 20.

By comparison, the patrol confiscated a total of $2.5 million worth of
drugs statewide during 1999. Seizures across Ohio exceeded $47 million last
year and are at nearly $10 million this year.

Lt. Gary Lewis cited several reasons for the patrol's success, including
having all troopers trained in drug interdiction.

Officers with the Toledo police vice-narcotics unit and the Toledo-Metro
Drug Task Force recovered drugs worth $2.1 million in Toledo in 1999.
Seizures rose last year to $10.3 million and total $387,000 so far.

Toledo's location near the crossroads of two of the nation's busiest
interstate highways - I-75 and the Ohio Turnpike (I-80/I-90) - make it a
major crossroads for drug shipments. Many drugs come into Toledo from
Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and Texas. Other suppliers are based in Canada
and Mexico, authorities said. In turn, Toledo dealers feed outlying counties.

"In Toledo, kilos [of drugs] are not uncommon," said Erie County Sheriff's
Detective Greg Majoy, a member of the Erie County Drug Task Force. "Down
here, a kilo is a major deal."

Last year, the Erie County task force grabbed more than $468,000 worth of
drugs, a substantial increase over the $152,000 taken in 1999.

The increased difficulty in transporting drugs after Sept. 11 has led
suppliers to increase their prices throughout the region, authorities said.

"The quality didn't go down, but the prices went up," said Tiffin Police
Detective Charles Boyer, a member of the Seneca County Drug Task
Force-METRICH Enforcement Unit, which covers 10 counties, including Seneca,
Hancock, and Huron.

Authorities in Ohio and Michigan said a kilo of cocaine, which is about 2.2
pounds, is currently selling for an average $19,000 to $26,000 on the
street. The kilo, after it's broken down into smaller amounts, could reap
about $220,000 when sold on the street.

Determining the total value of drug seizures in the region is difficult
because the different law enforcement agencies use different methods to set
their value. Some place a dollar value on the drugs based on what they paid
during drug buys; others calculate what those drugs could be sold for on
the street.

Michigan State Police Lt. Steve Shook, who oversees the Office of Monroe
Narcotics Investigations (OMNI) for Lenawee and Hillsdale counties, said
his numbers are based on what their unit pays for drugs. His officers
netted about $1.6 million worth of narcotics in 2000 and about $2.3 million
worth last year. This year, authorities have recovered drugs worth more
than $1 million.

Seizures may be going up because authorities are targeting organizations or
high-level dealers, the lieutenant said.

"Years ago, if we got 10 ounces of cocaine in the Lenawee County area, that
was quite a bit. Recently we've gotten a quarter to a half-kilo off
people," he said. A kilo is about 35 ounces.

Michigan State Police Lt. Luke Davis, in OMNI's Monroe County office, said
his officers seized $975,000 worth of narcotics last year, an increase of
$155,000 from 1999. Seizures so far in 2002 won't be available until the
end of the month.

He and others attribute some of the increase to the variety of drugs
available. Marijuana, powder cocaine, and crack cocaine are the primary
drugs of choice in the region. Other drugs, such as Ecstasy and
prescription drugs like Oxycontin, are rapidly gaining in popularity.

"It seems like you can walk around the corner and buy drugs," Lieutenant
Davis said, adding that there are more street dealers, including
middle-school and high-school-age children.

Drug abuse among Lucas County juveniles is down, but more of them were
charged with possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia last year than in
1999, said Deacon Dzierzawski, executive director of The Community
Partnership, a nonprofit coalition dedicated to substance abuse prevention
and intervention.

Jay Salvage, executive director of the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services
Board of Lucas County, said the board's programs for adults and juveniles
are full, and the waiting lists are two to four weeks long. Referrals have
increased too, he said.

Authorities said undercover investigations, searches, traffic stops,
confidential informants, and crime or drug hotlines help in finding drugs,
which are generally more prevalent in cities or towns.

"Sometimes it's just plain luck," said Mark Murtha, resident agent in
charge of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency office in Toledo, which
investigates cases in 21 northwest Ohio counties, and Hillsdale, Lenawee,
and Monroe counties in Michigan.

He said the DEA usually doesn't put dollar values on drugs because they
often aren't 100 percent pure. Instead they track drugs by weight.

The local DEA recovered about 1,795 pounds of cocaine, heroin, and
marijuana in fiscal 1999. There was a decline in fiscal 2000, but there has
been a rebound so far in fiscal 2001, with about 691 pounds seized to date,
Mr. Murtha said.

Methamphetamine busts also are rising. In fiscal year 1999, about 450 grams
of the stimulant were recovered. This fiscal year, about 667 grams have
been seized.

The Multi-Area Narcotics Task Force - which covers Defiance, Fulton, Henry,
Paulding, and Putnam counties and the city of Bryan in Williams County -
confiscated more meth last year than in prior years. The total rose from
0.5 grams in 1999 to 33 grams in 2001. Mr. Murtha said more canine units
and better communications between agencies have helped increase drug
seizures. The public also plays a big role.

"If the public doesn't give us information, we lose before we start," he said.

Dealers are getting smarter, using more leased or rented cars because they
know personal vehicles can be confiscated under drug laws. Because
authorities are raiding more residences, the dealers keep fewer drugs in
one place.

"They'll come back five or six times to [re-supply]" a drug house, Lima
Police investigator Jeff Kinkle said. "If they go back to the house and
there's a raid, they've only lost 15 to 20 rocks and they still have their
money."

The Lima-Allen County Narcotics Task Force recovered $850,000 worth of
drugs last year versus $612,000 worth in 2000.

Tiffin Detective Boyer said he expects the number of drug seizures and
arrests to continue to increase, especially with the soft economy and some
people turning to drug sales to make money.

Last year, the Seneca unit recovered more than $329,000 worth of drugs,
mostly marijuana plants. That total was up from 2000 but down more than
$143,000 from 1999, when most of the seizures were pot plants. Detective
Boyer said enforcement in the cities has pushed narcotics to rural areas,
where authorities may have a tougher time keeping up with the flow because
of manpower issues.

Despite this, Seneca County Sheriff Tom Steyer said everyone must continue
to be vigilant in their drug enforcement efforts. "If we don't continue to
be aggressive, it'll get worse," he said. "If we don't continue to work,
the dealers will start coming back."