[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 20216-20217]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         DRUG FIGHTING AGENCIES

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am often critical of this 
Administration's happy-go-lucky ways when it comes to drug policy. The 
administration is like the grasshopper in the old fable. It's out there 
fiddling around when it ought to be working. That said, I do not mean 
this criticism to detract from the fine work done by the many men and 
women in our law enforcement agencies. These fine people risk their 
lives every day to do important and difficult work on behalf of the 
public.
  I want to take a moment to highlight some of the achievements and 
invaluable service provided to this nation by the men and women of the 
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Customs Service, and 
the U.S. Coast Guard. As chairman of the Senate Caucus on International 
Narcotics Control, I would like to express my thanks and make known the 
tremendous pride that I think we should all have in the good people in 
these agencies.
  The men and women of the DEA, Customs, and the Coast Guard are 
dedicated to the protection of the United States and to ensuring the 
safety of our children and our lives from the devastating effects of 
the drug trade. They are called on daily to place their lives in harm's 
way in an effort to keep our nation secure. When they are boarding 
smugglers' vessels on the seas. When they stop terrorists at the 
border. When they investigate narcotics trafficking organizations 
around

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the globe. When they dismantle clandestine methamphetamine labs, engage 
in undercover operations, safeguard our ports of entry, or shut down 
ecstasy peddling night clubs, these fine people risk their lives and 
well being for all of us.
  DEA efforts this year include Operation Mountain Express, which 
arrested 140 individuals in 8 cities, seized $8 million and 10 metric 
tons of pseudoephedrine tablets, which could have produced 
approximately 18,000 pounds of methamphetamine. In addition, DEA's 
Operation Tar Pit, in cooperation with the FBI, resulted in nearly 200 
arrests in 12 cities and the seizure of 41 pounds of heroin. The heroin 
ring they busted was peddling dope to kids, many of whom died. DEA, in 
conjunction with State and local law enforcement, has also aggressively 
dismantled hundreds of clandestine methamphetamine labs that poison our 
urban streets and rural communities.
  The United States Customs Service has seized over 9,000,000 Ecstasy 
tablets in the last 10 months. Ecstasy is an emerging problem that 
affects not only our large cities but many rural areas, including my 
home State of Iowa. In addition, their Miami River operations have 
resulted in the seizure of 18 vessels, mostly arriving from Haiti, and 
over 7,000 pounds of cocaine--a small portion of the over 122,000 
pounds of cocaine seized this fiscal year. Finally, the Customs Service 
has seized over 1 million pounds of marijuana and over 2,000 pounds of 
heroin as well, often in very risky situations.
  Coast Guard successes this year include a record-breaking seizure 
total of over 123,000 pounds of cocaine, including many major cases in 
the Eastern Pacific. This effort went forward even while still 
interdicting over 4,000 illegal alien migrants bound for U.S. shores. 
In addition, the deployment of two specially equipped interdiction 
helicopters in Operation New Frontier had an unprecedented success rate 
of six seized go-fast vessels in six attempts.
  Finally, as announced last month, a joint DEA and Customs 
investigation--supported by the Coast Guard and Department of Defense--
concluded a 2 year multinational case against a Colombian drug 
transportation organization. The result was the arrest of 43 suspects 
and the seizure of nearly 25 tons of cocaine, with a retail street 
value of $1 billion. Operation Journey targeted an organization that 
used large commercial vessels to haul multi-ton loads of cocaine. This 
organization may have shipped a total of 68 tons of cocaine to 12 
countries in Europe and North America.
  I believe we should all be proud of the jobs these folks do on our 
behalf.

                          ____________________