OFFICERS MADE FEWER BUSTS IN 2001, TASK FORCE REPORTS

Drug and cash busts in Oklahoma City dropped last year, but the seizures
uncovered several nationwide drug trafficking networks. For 2001, the task
force seized 846 pounds of marijuana, 218 pounds of cocaine, 14.5 pounds of
methamphetamine and $628,151 in cash. Officers wrote 3,769 tickets.

In 2000, officers seized about 2,000 pounds of marijuana, 400 pounds of
cocaine and about $2.5 million in cash.

The summary of drug busts made by the Central Oklahoma Metro Interdiction
Team, a task force organized by the Oklahoma County district attorney's
office, was released Thursday.

"We had a successful year because of the amount of drugs we took off the
streets," task force director Larry Baker said.

The stops have led to drug trafficking investigations nationwide and have
uncovered drug-trafficking networks linking the East Coast, West Coast,
Mexico and Canada.

The task force, consisting of Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County law
officers, patrols portions of major interstate highways in Oklahoma City.

Baker said the task force puts law officers in specially marked cars
positioned to make traffic stops when driving violations are noticed. The
stops can lead to searches if an officer becomes suspicious.

It's difficult to compare the success of the program by looking at numbers,
Baker said.

On Oct. 17, officers seized 131 pounds of cocaine worth about $6 million on
Interstate 35.

Baker said on one day in 2000, officers found about $700,000 in drug money
inside a car that was stopped for a traffic violation.

The most recent stop by the task force will be included in the 2002
statistics. On Friday night, officers stopped a car on Interstate 35 at
Hefner Road. The first bust of the year netted 213 pounds of marijuana.

Baker said other law agencies in the state, such as the Oklahoma Highway
Patrol, did a good job patrolling streets and interstates last year, which
may have resulted in fewer drugs to find in Oklahoma City.