[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 140 (Thursday, October 9, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1983]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE WAR ON DRUGS

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                           HON. NEWT GINGRICH

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 9, 1997

  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, I want to encourage my colleagues to read 
the following article from the Atlanta Journal Constitution dated 
September 24, 1997. I believe this is a blatant example of how our 
country has lost some major battles with the war on drugs, but the war 
itself is not lost. To many people it's become painfully apparent in 
the last few years the war on drugs has been failing. America has spent 
millions of dollars on efforts to rid our society of the ravages of 
illegal drugs, only to find ourselves in a situation that's worse than 
when we began. We must now have the resolve and fortitude to carry the 
fight to the dealers and traffickers themselves.
  This is exactly why I introduced H.R. 41, the Drug Importer Death 
Penalty Act, to assist in curbing the quantities of drugs entering the 
United States. The legislation would call for a mandatory life sentence 
if someone is found to have brought a commercial quantity of drugs into 
the United States. On the second offense, a sentence of death would be 
imposed. It is time for us to send a serious and unmistakable message 
to those individuals who are profiting from destroying lives and 
irrevocably chaining our youth to the tragedy of illegal drugs. We will 
not tolerate the use of illegal drugs, and furthermore we will defend 
our country from those who wish to enter our borders with the intent to 
distribute these drugs that are poison to our society.

                        Suitcases Packing Heroin

                             (By Ron Martz)

       The second major heroin seizure in Atlanta in less than a 
     month is raising concerns among law enforcement officials 
     that the city has become a target for organizations 
     trafficking in the drug.
       Nine pounds of heroin believed to have come from Pakistan 
     were discovered hidden in the linings of two large suitcases 
     at Hartsfield International Airport on Monday night, bringing 
     to 22 pounds the amount of the drug found in recent raids, 
     the Drug Enforcement Administration announced Tuesday.
       Police allegedly found 13 pounds of heroin from Thailand in 
     the Atlanta apartment of John McGrath, 53, a native of 
     Australia, on August 28. McGrath and three others have been 
     arrested and charged with running an international heroin 
     trafficking ring that brought the drug into Atlanta.
       Kashis Rashid Rana, 22, of Kennesaw, was arrested and 
     charged in Monday's seizure at the airport, which DEA 
     officials said was worth about $4 million.
       The street value for a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of heroin can 
     range from $70,000 to $200,000, DEA officials said.
       The two seizures are not related, according to John 
     Andrejko, head of the Atlanta office of the DEA, who called 
     them ``two of the largest ever`` in the state.
       ``But what we're seeing in Atlanta is indicative of what 
     we're seeing in the larger cities across the country,'' he 
     said. ``The seizures are getting larger and the purity is 
     going up.''
       McGrath pleaded not guilty Tuesday and was released on 
     $50,000 bond.

     

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