DRUG TRAFFIC OFF FLORIDA SPIKES AS US TURNS ITS FOCUS TO TERRORISM

Shift Of Antidrug Resources To Guard Against Terrorists Has Increased The
Boldness Of Narcotics Trafficking.

HOUSTON - When the Caribbean became a superhighway for drug trafficking in
the 1980s, it became the inspiration for a TV show - "Miami Vice." Today,
the azure waters of Florida are once again threatening to become a major
artery in the narcotics trade. As US antidrug authorities have shifted
their resources to the porous borders of Mexico and Canada over recent
years, drug smugglers have been prompted to once again test the waters of
the Sunshine State. Where's Crockett and Tubbs when you need 'em?

Even more alarming is how Sept. 11 has opened the floodgates in these
pristine waters. With terrorism a top priority, no longer are US boats so
vigilantly patrolling the coastal waters in search of drugs. Large amounts
of antidrug resources and manpower have been diverted to that effort. The
result: a boomtime for drug peddlers off America's coastlines.

"We've got the makings for a real upsurge in drug trafficking and an
inability to cope with it," says William Walker, a professor of history and
international relations at Florida International University in Miami. "They
are seeing [drug-running] speed boats they haven't seen in south Florida in
20 years."

Indeed, the Coast Guard has seen its drug seizures plummet since crews were
sent to guard ports and oil refineries. Well over half of the Coast Guard's
anti-drug activities were redirected after Sept. 11, causing a 66 percent
drop in cocaine seizures from a year ago, and a more than 90 percent drop
in marijuana seizures. Experts say that the redeployment of resources is
even affecting the Pacific coast, where drug traffickers are attempting
routes they haven't tried in decades - or even creating new ones.

"One consequence of our shifting efforts is going to be less drug
interdiction on the oceans, which creates an opening for traffickers," says
Peter Andreas, a professor of international studies at Brown University in
Providence, R.I.

FBI agents are now spending much of their time chasing the money trail of
Osama bin Laden instead of the money trail of drug lords. Customs
surveillance planes and radar, once used to detect drug transit routes, are
now devoted to counter-terrorism surveillance. And many DEA agents have
been reassigned to airport security or as sky marshals.

"Unfortunately, this is the way this game is played," says Stan Furce,
director of the Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas. "The bad
guys are always trying to get drugs into the US where they think they will
get the most payoff. They know the Coast Guard has pulled back, and they
are taking advantage of that."

But, Mr. Furce and other drug-fighting agencies are optimistic that things
are beginning to return to normal and that agents will soon resume regular
duties.

Experts, however, warn that a number of international factors were already
wreaking havoc on the war on drugs before Sept. 11, and will continue to do
so even with beefed-up drug control.

First of all, the price of coffee has plummeted on the world market,
leaving many farmers in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru to turn to coca and
opium-poppy cultivation. Compounding the problem is a deepening recession
in much of Latin America. And many of the US-funded eradication programs
are suffering.

It's still unclear whether that has meant an increase in production. For
instance, the price of cocaine on the streets of Houston hasn't changed
since Sept. 11 - still running at about $1,600 to $1,700 a kilo -
indicating a steady stream of supply.

"It's just too early to tell," says Dr. Andreas. "Because drug traffickers
have large stockpiles of drugs on both sides of the border, we won't
necessarily see a change in price this quickly."

But one thing is for certain: The increased security along the Mexican and
Canadian borders is making traffickers nervous. Many have been caught
carrying significantly larger loads since Sept. 11, contrary to the most
recent trend of moving a lot of little loads. "It seems the smugglers are
getting a little more brazen in trying to pass larger loads at one time,"
says south Texas Customs spokesman Rick Pauza.

Tractor-trailers are the new method of choice. Recently, for instance,
Laredo Customs inspectors discovered a 2,349-pound load of marijuana in a
truck. A day earlier, inspectors found 49 pounds of cocaine in Eagle Pass.
The combined street value in seizures for that weekend was $5.6 million.

As opposed to dwindling seizure activity in the Caribbean and Pacific
Coast, seizures along the Mexican border have been rising ever since Sept.
11. That is due to the heightened border security.

The Bush administration says it won't have hard narcotics numbers until
sometime this month. But no matter what those numbers show, experts worry
that a greater focus on terrorism is bound to mean a decrease in funding
for counter-drug efforts.

"Priorities within the Defense Department are clearly shifting, as are the
assets used to combat drug trafficking," says Eric Olson, a senior
associate in the Washington Office on Latin America. "That is going to pose
a lot of questions."