Pubdate: Thu, 05 Jul 2001
Source: The Denton Record-Chronicle (TX)
Website: http://www.dentonrc.com/
Address: P. O. Box 369, Denton, TX 76202
Contact:  2001 Denton Record-Chronicle
Fax: (940) 381-9669
Author: Todd Bensman, The Dallas Morning News

DRUGS OFTEN RIDE THE RAILS

Train Traffic Contributes To North Texas' Status As 'Major' Distribution Hub

North Texas has become a major distribution hub for illegal drugs, thanks 
to the area's central geographic location and easy access provided by 
freeways, airports and railroads, a new federal report says.

The drug "threat assessment report" by the North Texas High Intensity Drug 
Trafficking Area, or HIDTA, found that one new concern to some federal and 
local law enforcement agencies is the many freight and passenger railways 
that connect Mexico with Texas.

Law enforcement authorities say the trains run through the Dallas-Fort 
Worth area virtually unchecked. The report also identified Amtrak's plans 
for a Dallas-to-New York route next year as an example of the opportunity 
for drug traffickers.

"It's a challenge that I think we're probably not being successful with, 
given the magnitude of the problem," said John Brown, Dallas special agent 
in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration. "Drug dealers are very 
dynamic, and they use any means they can. So if Amtrak has a route from a 
good transportation hub like Dallas to anyplace in the Northeast, they'll 
jump on the opportunity."

Officials with Amtrak and other railroads said they were surprised at the 
report's finding. They said that trains are an inconvenient method of 
smuggling and that railroad police control the situation.

HIDTA is one of 33 multiagency drug task forces that Congress set up across 
the country to fight the drug war. The report was produced for internal use 
by its 38 member law enforcement agencies.

The report is the second since the North Texas HIDTA was funded by Congress 
in 1999 and, building on last year's survey, is considered the most 
comprehensive statement yet about the region's drug problems. In addition 
to identifying the threat of smuggling along the rails, the report's 
findings include:

*The drug that most threatens the public welfare in North Texas is 
methamphetamine, an easily manufactured synthetic stimulant similar to 
cocaine but cheaper. More than half of the 60 North Texas agencies that 
contributed to HIDTA's study noted increases in methamphetamine production 
in home laboratories or consumer use. Many rural police departments 
reported their first discoveries of home labs that produce the drug for 
local consumption. Demand for the drug rose dramatically in 2000, reflected 
by street prices and falling purity.

*Tractor-trailer rigs and personal motor vehicles remained the primary 
transportation used by drug traffickers. They moved increased quantities of 
marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine from Mexico through Dallas 
to supply the Midwest and Northeast along interstates 30, 35, 45 and 20.

*Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Love Field, with increasing 
freight and passenger services, also served smugglers in 2000. Dealers also 
exploited North Texas' booming population and shifting ethnic demographics 
by selling drugs locally.

*The illegal drug "khat" made a significant appearance in the Dallas-Fort 
Worth area during 2000. The drug is a leafy vegetable-type stimulant chewed 
for centuries by people who live in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian 
Peninsula, especially Ethiopians and Somalis. More than 600 pounds of the 
leaf was seized in Dallas over a 33-day period early this year after being 
shipped to D/FW Airport from Africa in mislabeled boxes.

*Cocaine in all of its forms and Mexican black tar heroin remained 
plentiful in North Texas, but use of the drugs did not increase 
significantly in 2000, according to DEA case initiations, seizures and 
other indicators. Johnson and Tarrant counties reported some increases in 
treatment admissions.

*Mexican drug cartels, with help from Colombian organizations, dominated 
the local drug trade, controlling the local distribution of marijuana, 
cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. In all, 57 Mexican organizations were 
identified as having a presence in the area or smuggling through it. Gangs 
from Eastern Europe and Asia did a robust business in "club drugs," such as 
ecstasy.

Dave Israelson, director of the North Texas HIDTA, said rail smuggling is 
much less common than smuggling by trailer trucks or personal motor 
vehicles. Texas has the nation's highest volume of truck traffic, with 
about 3,500 tractor-trailers now crossing the border daily from Laredo.

Mr. Israelson and other federal law enforcement officials in North Texas 
say the report underscores the need for strategies that can be effective 
with available but limited resources. The North Texas HIDTA strategies are 
confidential, Mr. Israelson said.

The report, in addressing the railroad smuggling threat, identified 
Amtrak's plans to create a Dallas-to-New York route next year as an example 
of expanding opportunity for drug traffickers and diminishing law 
enforcement ability to address the problem. Authorities seized more than 
7.5 kilos of cocaine from Amtrak passengers last year, as well as 150 kilos 
of marijuana.

The Mexican government also is privatizing its railroads and rail trade 
through Texas under the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, federal 
officials in Dallas said.

Marijuana shipments have traditionally been found on the rails, but the 
Mexican military last year began finding large amounts of cocaine, 
including 2,300 pounds in April and May, the report said.

Wayne Frandsen, resident agent in charge of the U.S. Customs Service in 
Dallas, said his agency has neither the resources nor the technology to 
police increasing freight and passenger train traffic from Mexico. The 
trains carry goods from as far away as South and Central America.

The agency's border posts recently acquired some X-ray technology capable 
of monitoring some freight, but experts say the few machines can make only 
a token impact.

A representative of Texas Mexican Railways said the machines installed in 
April 2000 work well and supplement aggressive physical checks by railroad 
police on both sides of the border.

Kevin Johnson, a spokesman for Amtrak, said demand for the Northeast route 
"overwhelms the sensible consideration of increased opportunities for 
illegal drug activity.

"With any service expansion, Amtrak will continue to be vigilant and 
diligent in its efforts to stop the flow of illegal drugs at our facilities 
or our trains," he said.

"It's coming as kind of a shock to me," said Bill Galligan, a spokesman for 
Kansas City Southern Railroad, which has partnerships with Mexican 
railroads. "I know of absolutely no problems with the trains being closely 
scrutinized in terms of U.S. Customs in our experience with Mexico trade. 
Trains are not the best way to move drugs because they're confined. There's 
no way the smuggler can control what's going on."
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