Pubdate: Tue, 25 Oct 2011
Source: Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, GA)
Copyright: 2011 Ledger-Enquirer
Contact:  http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/237
Authors: Jim Mustian and Tim Chitwood
Bookmark: http://www.http://mapinc.org/topic/Red+Ribbon+Week
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

RED RIBBON WEEK: COCAINE REMAINS A CHALLENGE FOR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

Collaboration Is Key in Transient Drug Trade

On a frigid Wednesday last January, Benny Jones expected to collect 
two freshly delivered kilograms of cocaine when he stepped out of the 
cold and into a south Columbus apartment.

What the Phenix City man encountered, however, was a sting operation 
involving his own driver, Horace Cromwell, who agreed to facilitate 
the setup after he was pulled over with the drugs en route from 
Houston. A camera hidden by the feds in Cromwell's apartment captured 
footage of the drug deal, according to court documents, and agents 
waiting in a back room rushed out to make an arrest once the cocaine 
exchanged hands.

Cromwell and Jones pleaded guilty to drug charges this summer in U.S. 
District Court and are facing five to 40 years behind bars. 
Investigators said the bust prevented a major shipment of cocaine 
from making its way to street corners and dark alleys around the 
Chattahoochee Valley.

The January sting, orchestrated by federal Drug Enforcement 
Administration agents and the Metro Narcotics Task Force, highlighted 
the importance of teamwork among law enforcement agencies as they 
seek to stem the flow of cocaine into the region. Unlike 
methamphetamine -- an increasingly prevalent drug that can be 
manufactured locally -- cocaine travels hundreds of miles before it 
reaches its destination and is distributed for street sale.

Many participants in the drug trade are as transient as the narcotics 
they smuggle, so enforcement hinges upon tight communication and 
collaboration on both sides of the Chattahoochee River, authorities say.

"We've got somewhat of a unique area where we live here because the 
two cities are so intertwined, and it's two different states," 
Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor said. "The drug trade doesn't 
recognize state lines or county lines. They just go wherever the 
doggone money is and wherever they can sell."

This year's National Drug Threat Assessment, compiled by the National 
Drug Intelligence Center of the U.S. Department of Justice, shows 
cocaine is still widely available throughout the country though at 
diminished levels. The feds attribute the decrease to inter-cartel 
fighting and "counter-drug activity" that has disrupted cocaine 
trafficking from South America.

Federal agencies also seized 30 percent less cocaine in the fiscal 
years 2009 and 2010 compared to 2006, the assessment found, a trend 
reflected in some local jurisdictions.

"Most of what we come across lately has been methamphetamine and 
marijuana," said Sgt. Chad Mann of the Troup County Sheriff's Office.

But interviews with local law enforcement officials suggest cocaine 
and crack remain a fixture here despite significant arrests and the 
emergence of other popular drugs like methamphetamine.

"There is still lots of coke use in the area with crack and powder 
cocaine," Taylor said.

Capt. Gil Slouchick, special operations unit commander with the 
Columbus Police Department, said police haven't seen any decrease of 
cocaine in recent years.

"Not at our level we haven't," said Slouchick, who's tasked with 
combating street- and mid-level drug dealers. "Any way you can bring 
anything else into Columbus, Georgia, is how the drugs are coming in here."

Columbus police recently came across a YouTube video filmed at a 
local housing project that demonstrated the cooking of cocaine into crack.

"Cocaine is cooked here in Columbus, Georgia. We know that," 
Slouchick said. "We've done search warrants on houses and places 
where we've arrested individuals with crack cocaine where they had 
been cooking there at the house."

Phenix City police, meanwhile, say they've seen a leveling off in the 
cocaine supply over the past three years.

"With meth being able to be produced locally and the ingredients 
being available locally, that is by far going to be our No. 1 
problem," said Police Chief Ray Smith.

But Smith also attributed the stagnation to some major cocaine 
arrests. For instance, the department has made six crack cocaine 
distribution arrests so far this year -- three times the total in 
2009 -- as well as some sizeable trafficking busts.

"If you make a good lick on a street-level distributor, of course 
that disrupts the supply chain for a couple of months until somebody 
else comes in and takes his place," Smith said. "Certainly, you want 
to explain to people, 'Here's the danger you can get into.' But at 
the end of the day, as long as there's a market for it, you're always 
going to have somebody who's willing to take the risk to distribute 
it -- that's human nature."

Like many local agencies, Phenix City police fight the cocaine trade 
on two separate fronts. A joint effort with the Russell County 
Sheriff's Office known as the PAIN unit -- Partners Against Illegal 
Narcotics -- focuses on the street level.

Those agencies rely on the Metro Narcotics Task Force out of Columbus 
to take on the upper-level, bulk shipments, such as the one seized in 
January at Cromwell's apartment off St. Marys Road. The Louisiana 
State Police -- who stopped Cromwell and a Columbus woman east of 
Lake Charles for improper lane usage -- also were to thank for that 
bust, authorities said.

"If we did not have the cooperation between all of the agencies in 
this area, you would be looking at spending hundreds of thousands of 
dollars with everybody looking for the same guy," Taylor said. "You 
cut that down, and you've got one responsible drug unit, which is Metro."

Police in Auburn, Ala., combat the drug trade with active patrols and 
a narcotics unit of about five specially trained officers. The 
department was reminded of the prevalence of cocaine just last week 
after a routine traffic stop.

Charles J. Edwards, 45, allegedly tried to flee the scene on foot but 
was quickly arrested, police said. Officers searched his car and 
allegedly found more than a pound of cocaine, a find Police Chief 
Tommy Dawson said is one of the largest in the city's history.

"We were very pleased to remove that amount of cocaine from the 
street," Dawson said in a phone interview.

"Normally, when you arrest one, somebody takes their place," he 
added. "But it's going to set them back. Losing that amount could put 
them out of business."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom