PRESIDENT BUSH REQUESTS SUBSTANTIAL FUNDING INCREASES TO FIGHT ILLEGAL DRUG TRAFFICKING
AND REDUCE SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Fy '04 Budget Seeks $58 Million For Ocdetf; $68 Million For Drug Courts

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney General John Ashcroft today announced that the President will request $126 million for the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute illegal drug trafficking and to achieve a reduction in recidivism and substance abuse among nonviolent adult and juvenile offenders.

The President's Budget, which will be released February 3rd, 2003, includes a Justice Department request for $58 million for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) - the cornerstone of the President's strategy to fight illegal drug trafficking. OCDETF focuses its resources on coordinated, nationwide investigations, targeting the entire infrastructure of major drug trafficking organizations - from international supply sources, to domestic transportation cells, to regional and local distribution as well as money laundering operations.

"Nothing does more to diminish our potential -- both as individuals and as a nation -- than illegal drug use," Ashcroft said. "The President has made OCDETF the cornerstone of his Administration's efforts to fight illegal drug trafficking. By bringing together the expertise of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to target entire networks of organized drug traffickers, OCDETF is helping us meet our commitment to protecting our young people - and our nation - from the destructive force of illegal drugs."

"Just like any other market, the market for illegal drugs has certain identifiable stress points and vulnerabilities," said John Walters, Director of the Office of National Drug Policy. "The OCDETF can play a critical role in undermining that market and disrupting the illegal drug trade that poisons our young people and funds our enemies."

The FY 2004 budget request includes:

·192 positions and $26 million to expand OCDETF investigations connected to the Consolidated Priority Organization Target list, a unified agency list of the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. The request will fund agents, analysts, and federal prosecutors dedicated to investigating and prosecuting the most serious drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.

·$22 million to establish the automated capacity to analyze and disseminate OCDETF investigative information leveraging the same technology that was developed for the Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force.

·83 positions and $10 million to expand financial and money laundering investigations. The enhancement will fund financial investigative efforts, including intelligence gathering, undercover operations and document exploitation.

In addition, the President's budget proposes to transfer $108 million in OCDETF funding from the Treasury and Homeland Security Departments to the Justice Department in an effort to better coordinate resources and improve accountability.

Some recent OCDETF success stories:

Operation Wirecutter: Agents from Customs, DEA, FBI, INS, and the Colombian authorities, dismantled a major international money laundering operation using the Black Market Peso Exchange to send back drug proceeds from 21 U.S. and Canadian cities to Colombia. Based on evidence from the investigation, Colombian authorities extradited Jorge Duran Duran, Ramiro Mansano, and Pablo Trujillo in December 2002, charging each with serving as a "money broker" on behalf of Colombian drug organizations. The three defendants allegedly coordinated the collection and deposit of drug proceeds in the U.S. and the wire transfer of millions of dollars to accounts in Colombia. To date, this nationwide investigation has resulted in 29 arrests in the U.S. and the seizure of more than $8 million in narcotics proceeds, 400 kilograms of cocaine, 6.5 kilograms of heroin, nine firearms, and six vehicles. This groundbreaking OCDETF investigation marks the first time that U.S. authorities and Colombian law enforcement have collaboratively and successfully identified and dismantled an entire money laundering organization.

Mountain Express III: A nationwide OCDETF investigation conducted by DEA, in concert with Customs, IRS, SOD, five United States Attorney's Offices and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, targeted the Eswawi brothers, Middle-Eastern traffickers of pseudoephedrine, a precursor chemical used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. The January 2002 operation resulted in a nationwide simultaneous takedown in 12 U.S. cities and the eventual arrest of 141 defendants and the seizure of over 35 tons of pseudoephedrine, six clandestine laboratories, and $4.5 million in cash.

Most significantly, analysis of the financial records revealed that some proceeds from the drug sales were being funneled to Hezbollah, a known Middle Eastern terrorist organization. This was the first direct evidence of the link between drug trafficking and terrorist organizations in the Middle East.

Operation Webslinger: A multi-district, multi-agency, OCDETF investigation targeted the Internet sales of GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate), the "date rape drug." Distributors and customers were identified in 40 states as well as in several foreign countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. On September 18, 2002, 115 individuals were arrested in Canada and in cities across the United States, including St. Louis, Buffalo, Mobile, and Detroit. The defendants included a Canadian distributor, operating over the internet from Canada, who generated over $3 million in Internet sales, processing over 1000 orders in just 20 days and grossing approximately $10,000 a day as well as a distributor in Missouri who shipped over 1,750 packages through UPS and received over $1 million in drug proceeds (two known overdoses, one resulting in death, resulted from these drug shipments). The investigation clearly demonstrated that the Internet is not a safe haven for drug dealers.

The Department will also seek a $16 million increase for a total of over $68 million for Drug Courts administered by the Office of Justice Programs to ensure that the courts are robust and sustainable, and can fully support the demand for services in their communities.

Drug Courts seek to achieve a reduction in recidivism and substance abuse among nonviolent adult and juvenile offenders. Drug Courts also increase their likelihood for successful rehabilitation through early, continuous, and intensive judicially supervised treatment, mandatory periodic drug testing, and the use of graduated sanctions and other rehabilitation services.

"The long-term viability of the existing drug courts is critical, and can best be accomplished by ensuring that the courts are able to support the full range of services - especially treatment and training - that are needed by drug court clients if they are to break the cycle of drug abuse and criminal activity," Ashcroft said.

·$6.25 million to increase the number of grants to existing drug courts for current operations such as: investing in infrastructure enhancements, management information systems, and more comprehensive treatment services to break the cycle between drug use and crime.

·$7.25 million to fund new drug courts under the implementation grant category -- this added funding brings the total of new drug courts planned in FY 2004 to 78.

·$2.5 million to expand the training and technical assistance available to communities through existing drug courts.

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