Pubdate: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 Coast Guard Reports Shift in Caribbean Drug Trafficking; Seizure Value Nearly $1 Billion SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, July 30 /PRNewswire/ U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert E. Kramek reported today to U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater that Operation Frontier Shield, an interagency effort to counter narcotics trafficking, has resulted in the seizure of narcotics with a street value of nearly $1 billion and has deterred drug smuggling activity in the eastern Caribbean region. Frontier Shield is credited with denying nearly 30 tons of drugs from entering Puerto Rico; disrupting more than 77 percent of known trafficking attempts between October 1996 and early June 1997; seizing 24,000 pounds of illegal drugs, worth nearly $1 billion; arresting 99 suspected traffickers; and seizing 23 smuggling vessels. "The vigilance and dedication of our interagency interdiction forces in the eastern Caribbean are commendable," Secretary Slater said. "They are an important part of President Clinton's interdiction strategy, and their initial success means that we have effectively decreased drug smuggling around Puerto Rico." Admiral Kramek said interagency assessments that monitor drug trafficking trends and patterns revealed a decrease in smuggling activity around Puerto Rico. He attributed this decrease to the constant pressure being placed on traffickers by Operation Frontier Shield forces. "In August of 1996, I told the traffickers we were going to make life difficult for them, that we were going to kick them out and keep them out," Admiral Kramek said. "Today, after months of hard work and vigilance by Coast Guard, Puerto Rican and federal authorities the Drug Enforcement Agency, Customs, FBI we are seeing clear indications that traffickers are moving their operations elsewhere away from Puerto Rico. Traffickers are now being forced to use new routes. As a result, they're much more vulnerable when they try to establish themselves in new areas." Operation Frontier Shield is an interagency effort that began on Oct. 1, 1996, to deter and deny smugglers access to the eastern Caribbean and Puerto Rico area, the most active drag trafficking area in the Caribbean. An electronic version of this document can be obtained via the World Wide Web at: http://www.dot.gov/affairs/index.htm SOURCE U.S. Department of Transportation /CONTACT: PAI David Silva, 7877296800 ext. 121, or Cmdr. Jeff Karonis, 2023661748, both for the U.S. Coast Guard/ [Copyright 1997, PR Newswire]