Pubdate: Sat, 18 Feb 2006
Source: Times, The (Gainesville, GA)
Copyright: 2006 Gainesville Times
Contact:  http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2701
Author: Matt Stewart

HISPANIC DRUG CRIME ARRESTS HIGH IN COUNTY

Area Law Officers Say They Aren't Targeting Immigrants Unfairly

Hall County Sheriff's Lt. Scott Ware first heard of the infamous 
Mexican drug cartels in the early 1990s. A lifelong Northeast Georgia 
resident, Ware didn't believe anything resembling a drug cartel 
existed in his stomping ground.

Ware, now head of the sheriff's office Multi Agency Narcotics Squad, 
isn't so sure anymore.

Though Ware doesn't say a definite Hispanic drug ring exists in Hall, 
the number of Hispanics arrested in drug trafficking cases within the 
last recorded year is alarming.

 From July 1, 2004 to July 1, 2005, Hispanic males made up 71 percent 
of drug trafficking arrests made by drug agents in Hall County, 
according to MANS records.

White females were the next highest ethnicity and gender arrested for 
trafficking drugs in Hall, but accounted for only 12 percent of those arrests.

"We've found the larger distribution cases have involved Hispanics," 
Ware said, adding that most illegal drugs in Hall trafficking cases 
are believed to have come from out of the state and, in some cases, 
out of the country.

Drug trafficking is the sale or distribution of an ounce or more of 
cocaine, crystal methamphetamine or other high profile drug, Ware 
said. Ten or more pounds of marijuana also constitute drug 
trafficking, he said.

Powder cocaine, crystal meth and marijuana are most common among 
Hispanics who are arrested, Ware said. Those are the main drugs sold 
and distributed by whites and blacks as well, although those ethnic 
groups are involved in more mid-to-lower level drug arrests in Hall, he said.

Ware said he could not determine why Hispanics were involved in drug 
trafficking in so many cases. Arturo Corso, a defense attorney in 
Hall, said poverty might be forcing some Hispanics to resort to 
drug-related crimes to make money.

Corso, who represents many Hispanic clients, said many times those 
arrested serve as a "middle man" in the delivery of drugs and are not 
involved in the manufacturing or sale of the drugs.

The most recent drug trafficking arrests in Hall, one a 
record-setting cocaine seizure, involved Hispanic men, many of whom 
are undocumented immigrants.

An undercover Gainesville-Hall County Gang Task Force operation last 
week resulted in the arrest of four Hispanic men Feb. 10. About 103 
pounds of marijuana, worth more than $200,000, was recovered in the drug sting.

Three of the four men arrested were illegal immigrants.

Three weeks earlier, two Hispanic men from Lawrenceville were 
arrested in connection with a Hall County record-setting cocaine 
bust. Nearly 88 pounds of cocaine, worth an estimated $4 million, was seized.

Both suspects, one an undocumented immigrant, face federal charges, Ware said.

"We've found that the people here legally are not involved with 
drugs, they're here to make a better life for themselves," he said. 
"Those here illegally, who can skate in and out of the country, break 
one law and find it's even easier to break another law."

Despite the alarming trend in the drug trafficking arrests of 
Hispanic men, the majority of them illegal immigrants, Ware said his 
agency isn't targeting Hispanics.

When it comes to all types of drug-related arrests made by MANS 
agents, the numbers back Ware up.

Over a two-month period from Dec. 1, 2005 to Jan. 31, 2006, MANS 
agents made a total of 68 drug-related arrests. Of that total, whites 
made of 47 percent of those arrested. Hispanics were at the bottom of 
the list over the two-month period, accounting for just 20 percent of 
all drug-related arrests.

Ware says the MANS unit also doesn't know whether a Hispanic suspect 
is undocumented until an investigation is conducted by the Bureau of 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"We usually don't even know their name until they're arrested," he 
said. "We go after whoever is dealing in drugs."

Gainesville Police Department officer Joe Britte, who has worked with 
Gainesville's Hispanic community for years, said his department also 
isn't targeting by race or ethnicity.

"We have strict racial profiling (rules and regulations) and we 
follow them to a 'T'," Britte said.

Corso, one of only a handful of Spanish-speaking lawyers in Hall, 
agrees that immigrants are not being targeted by Hall authorities. He 
also commended MANS for its work against drug trafficking.

Corso, however, said he does think some legislators are targeting 
immigrants. He cited a recent bill passed by the Georgia House of 
Representatives that would levy a surcharge on international money 
transfers made by illegal immigrants.

The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. James Mills, R-Chestnut Mountain. 
Corso referred to the bill as "hillbilly politics."

"(Such legislators) treat voters like hillbillies, able to unite only 
behind single-issue prejudice, for example anti-immigration, rather 
than creative legislative initiatives lifting up Georgians," Corso said.

"It's easy to get on the 'bash the immigrants' bandwagon."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman