[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 11 (Thursday, February 12, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E183-E184]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE PETE SESSIONS, THE HONORABLE DICK ARMEY, THE 
  HONORABLE JOE BARTON, THE HONORABLE MARTIN FROST, THE HONORABLE KAY 
  GRANGER, THE HONORABLE SAM JOHNSON, AND THE HONORABLE EDDIE BERNICE 
   JOHNSON TO ENCOURAGE THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG 
     CONTROL POLICY TO DESIGNATE NORTH TEXAS A HIGH INTENSITY DRUG 
                            TRAFFICKING AREA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PETE SESSIONS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 12, 1998

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues Congressman Richard Armey, 
Congressman Joe Barton, Congressman Sam Johnson, Congresswoman Eddie 
Bernice Johnson, Congresswoman Kay Granger, and I wish to inform other 
members of the House of Representatives about a situation in the 
greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area which demands our 
attention.
  Drug abuse and illegal drug trafficking are a major problem in the 
Dallas/Fort Worth area, as they are in all other parts of the country. 
However, there is evidence that points to the establishment of the area 
as a major transshipment point for major drug trafficking operations. 
For instance, major Colombian and Mexican drug trafficking 
organizations have established significant transshipment operations in 
the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area.
  Law enforcement agencies in North Texas have reported dramatic 
increases in the importation, transportation, and distribution of 
heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana. And the increased drug 
trafficking active in the area has become a breeding ground for the 
proliferation of street gangs and related violent crime.
  But, Mr. Speaker, despite the powerful statistics, what brings these 
problems home to us is the deaths of children recently in and around 
Plano, Texas. As the Dallas Morning News wrote in a recent editorial, 
``At least a dozen young people from the Plano area have died from 
heroin-related overdoses since 1996.'' Just this week, we lost 17-year-
old Natacha Marie Campbell to a heroine and cocaine overdose. This just 
adds a tragic, human dimension to our fight against illegal drugs.
  Although the law enforcement community has obtained significant 
convictions and sentences against major drug traffickers, the increased 
drug activity in North Texas is overwhelming current law enforcement 
resources. We urge the Director of the Office of National Drug Control 
Policy to commit the necessary resources to the fights against drugs in 
the Dallas/Fort Worth area by making North Texas a High Intensity Drug 
Trafficking area. This crucial designation will mean greater resources 
or and coordination among area law enforcement agencies. It will help 
the parents in the Dallas/Fort Worth area take control of this problem.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit for the record a resolution 
recently passed by the Greater Dallas Crime Commission which makes 
similar points, and urges the Director of the Office of National Drug 
Control Policy to designate North Texas a High Intensity Drug 
Trafficking Area.

               Greater Dallas Crime Commission Resolution

       Whereas: Major Colombian and Mexican drug trafficking 
     organizations have established significant transshipment 
     operations in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area (the 
     ``Metroplex'') and North Texas generally since the early 
     1990's; and
       Whereas: Law enforcement agencies in North Texas have 
     reported dramatic increases in the importation, 
     transportation and distribution of heroin, methamphetamines, 
     cocaine, and marijuana into the area since the early 1990's; 
     and
       Whereas: Law enforcement seizures of heroin in North Texas 
     have increased by more than 500% in recent years, and the 
     purity of the heroin on North Texas streets has increased 
     dramatically and lethally; and
       Whereas: The increased drug trafficking active in the area 
     has become a breeding ground for the proliferation of street 
     gangs and related violent crimes including theft, robbery, 
     prostitution, assault and murder; and
       Whereas: The impact of the increased drug activity in North 
     Texas has resulted in an increase of drug overdose deaths in 
     the area, with most of the victims being teenagers or 
     younger; and
       Whereas: Although the law enforcement community has 
     obtained significant convictions and sentences against major 
     drug traffickers, the increased drug activity in North Texas 
     is overwhelming current law enforcement resources; and
       Whereas: Designation of North Texas a High Intensity Drug 
     Trafficking Area by the Director of the Office of National 
     Drug Control Policy will mean greater resources for and 
     coordination among area law enforcement agencies to combat 
     drug trafficking organizations; and
       Now therefore, the Greater Dallas Crime Commission urges 
     the designation of North Texas as a High Intensity Drug 
     Trafficking Area.
       In Witness Whereof This Twenty-second Day of January, 1998.
     Cullen M. Godfrey,
                                                         Chairman.
     Nickie Murchison,
                                               Executive Director.


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