Pubdate: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 Source: Times, The (LA) Copyright: 2003 The Times Contact: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1019 Author: Seth Parsons, The Times HARD WORK BRINGS RECOGNITION TO DEA For Shreveport police Sgt. Richard Childers and other members of the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force based in Shreveport, 60 hour work weeks are common. During the last year, task force agents have shut down an international ecstasy smuggling ring, infiltrated an outlaw motorcycle gang suspected of distributing methamphetamines and arrested a jewelry store owner believed to have been importing ecstasy. That work has not gone unnoticed. Fourteen task force agents, including Childers, received commendations for outstanding service Thursday afternoon. The awards are part of an Administrators Award for Outstanding Group Achievement awarded to the Shreveport Resident office, Resident Agent in Charge Bill Grant said. "This is an outstanding achievement for this office considering how very few personnel we have and the area we cover," Grant said. The Shreveport Regional office was one of only four regional DEA offices worldwide to receive a similar award. And of those 600 regional offices, the Shreveport office is among one of the smallest, Grant said. "They have done a bang-up job," Shreveport police spokeswoman Kacee Hargrave said. "They've gotten a lot of drugs off the streets." Shreveport police have a number of officers assigned to the DEA task force, Hargrave said. The Caddo sheriff's office and Louisiana state police have also assigned officers to the task force. The work those officers do is time consuming and often dangerous. "They live the kind of lives that give normal people nightmares at night," Shreveport police Assistant Chief Charlie Owens said. That lifestyle is paying off, Childers said. "There are times when you bring down a whole (drug) organization," Childers said. "You can see dope getting scarce and the prices driven up." - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager