Pubdate: Sun, 20 May 2012 Source: Muskogee Daily Phoenix (OK) Copyright: 2012 Muskogee Daily Phoenix Contact: http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3319 Author: Dylan Goforth SEIZURE A WEAPON IN DRUG WAR, BOON TO LAW ENFORCEMENT Seizure of $40K just latest in over $800K seized by sheriff's office over last 3 years Muskogee County Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Gragg says 80 percent of crime leads to drugs in some way. Gragg says best way to stop the illegal flow of drugs is on the highway. "Because what happens is the drugs come in on the highway and end up in the smaller cities, and at that point it's almost too late," Gragg said. A state law allows law enforcement officers to seize money and property suspected of being the fruits of illegal activity. The person is given notice of the seizure and is allowed the opportunity to prove it was not part of illegal activity. Gragg made one such seizure Wednesday evening. Gragg stopped a vehicle traveling on Interstate 40 between Webbers Falls and Warner. He said the driver's story "made no sense." When Gragg's K-9 alerted on the Laredo, he searched and found a box under the passenger side seat carrying $40,980. No drugs were found in the vehicle, though, and the driver was not arrested. Gragg said if the driver can prove the money belongs to him, he will be able to retrieve it. "But based on my training and what I've learned and the stories he gave me, it's obviously drug money," Gragg said. The man likely had flown from California to Dallas, and taken drugs to Springfield, Mo., Gragg said. The driver was stopped on his way back to Dallas. "That $40,000 was clearly his payment," Gragg said. The $40,000 brings the three-year total of funds seized by the sheriff's office to more than $800,000, Gragg said. "The seized money is split with the (District Attorney's) office," Gragg said. "We use it for equipment and training and classes that get to be really, really expensive." The sheriff's office has used seized drug money to purchase five black Chevrolet Tahoes in the last three years. Stickers on the back of the vehicles state that fact. Wednesday's seizure did not include drugs. Many highway interdiction stops do get drugs out of the pipeline. By the time the drugs are off the highway and into cities, it becomes harder to make a big difference in the amount of drugs being moved, Gragg said. "If we make a stop on the highway, we can find these guys who are taking big amounts of drugs into the area and put a stop to it by getting felony convictions," Gragg said. "By the time it gets to the cities, you're talking about getting misdemeanor convictions. You can't stop it that way. "Don't get me wrong, we need to be after in the city too, but highways are the ways to make a big dent." - --- MAP posted-by: Matt