DRUG BUST JUST ONE STEP IN BREAKING CYCLE

The Issue: Authorities Dismantled A Heroin Ring That Ran Drugs From Mexico
To Hawaii.

THE heroin-smuggling organization broken up last week shows how elaborate
drug operations can be and how determined police work and cooperation among
law-enforcement authorities can produce good results. What remains troubling
is that no sooner than one ring is busted than another fills the vacuum and
that treatment for addicts continues to lag.

The smugglers carried the heroin in waist belts and pouches on commercial
airline flights from Los Angeles to Honolulu and on to Hilo. Although two
people were arrested at Honolulu Airport in October, apparently many others
got by undetected.

Since 1995, officials had received hints about the heroin operation, which
brought drugs from Mexico across the border into California. A concerted
investigation began in November 2000 involving the heavy guns of law
enforcement: the U.S. Customs Service, FBI, IRS, the U.S. Attorney's Office
and all county police departments. But the break in the case came through a
Big Island police detective who was able to establish a rapport with a drug
suspect, who then provided authorities with needed information. The result
was the arrests of about 40 people here and in California and seizure of
drugs, money and weapons.

While only $166,000 was confiscated, investigators say as much as $2 million
in drug profits was funneled back to Mexico. Most of the money was
transferred by Western Union in amounts of less than $1,000 at a time to
avoid raising suspicion.

Ring leaders recruited Hawaii residents to do much of the smuggling; addicts
are easy marks for such tasks, police say. The ripples of drug abuse showed
up in more thefts and burglaries as addicts sought money to pay for their
habits. The heroin would sell for about $180 for a one-gram hit, enough for
about a day's use, according to Lt. Henry Tavares of the Hawaii County vice
unit.

Authorities acknowledge that the laws of supply and demand will likely
induce other drug dealers, large- and small-scale, to fill the gap. Constant
vigilance by law enforcement will be required to control the flow of illegal
substances.

Further, as heroin and crystal methamphetamine surpass cocaine and marijuana
as leading concerns for law enforcement, without funds for treatment of
addicts the cycle of drugs and crime never will be broken. As Lt. Tavares
conceded, "We definitely need more treatment programs."