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Officers fight drug imports
Drug dealers find creative hiding places in cat-and-mouse game
Friday, November 25, 2005
TOM SMITH
TimesDaily

RUSSELLVILLE - Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett will never forget last November.

Not only was it Hargett's first days on the job as the city's top law enforcement official, but he was also a part of the city's largest drug bust.

"We got a call from U.S. Customs that they were doing a controlled delivery to Russellville with an unknown amount of what was believed to have been marijuana," Hargett said as he reflected on the events of last year.

The shipment had been discovered in Texas as it crossed the border. Russellville police, along with members of the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and other area agencies, set up surveillance to catch whomever the marijuana was delivered to.

When the tractor-trailer arrived in Russellville, the delivery was made to a Hispanic-owned business. When the cargo was emptied, officers found more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana packed inside large clay planters.

Hargett said three people were taken into custody by agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Customs.

Hargett said he believes if the shipment of marijuana had arrived without detection, a large portion would have been sold locally.

"Because of the amount, I'm sure some would have been shipped outside the city and into surrounding states," he said.

That shipment had Mexican roots.

Many of the illegal drug shipments coming into northwest Alabama and surrounding areas are being traced to Mexico and Central American countries, officials say.

"We seized large amounts of `ice' (a form of methamphetamine) in two busts, one in August 2003 and then again in May 2005, and both were tracked back to Mexico," said Brad Holmes, a member of the Florence Police Department who is assigned to the Lauderdale County Drug Task Force.

Earlier this year, two large crops of marijuana were seized by law enforcement. One of the crops was in Marion County, while the other was in Franklin County. Drug agents say both crops have Mexican connections.

Most drug enforcement officers agree that the majority of the illegal drugs coming into the area are from Mexico, Guatemala or other Central American countries.

"I'd say 75 or 80 percent of the drugs we see on the streets are coming (from) outside the U.S.," said Rector Johnson, director of the Marion County Drug Task Force.

In the past two years, the Lawrence County Drug Task Force has made two big busts, one consisting of 22 kilos of cocaine and the other 75 pounds of marijuana.

Sheriff Bryan Hill said both shipments are presumed to have originated outside the country.

"Where it went before it got here, that's a good question," Hill said. "And more than likely, the final destination wasn't intended to be Lawrence County."

Meth being imported:

While marijuana and cocaine are still the largest cash crops, agents say more meth is being shipped in.

Officers say new laws on the over-the-counter sale of pseudoephedrine are making it harder on the "backyard chemists" to make their own meth.

"There are still some, but we don't make as many manufacturing cases as we once did," said Russellville police investigator Lt. Scotty Lowery. "The law is good, but it has really opened up the import market for meth."

Myron Crunk, director of the Lauderdale County Drug Task Force, said shipments likely come through the area on a weekly basis.

"Pharmaceuticals probably come in daily; a lot of them are being bought off the Internet and then distributed," Crunk said. "You try to intercept the shipments as often as possible. But that's the tricky part. It takes time and effort to intercept these shipments."

Hargett said the dealers are also creative in where they hide the drugs they're hauling.

Some of the areas of a vehicle where drugs have been found include headliners, gas tanks, spare tires, seats, inside the dashboard and in compartments built into the floor.

"I've even seen where the haulers dismantled the motor of the car and hid the drugs," Hargett said.

He said there are probably more shipments coming into the region than "we think."

"We have major highways throughout this area. I know it's coming through," he said. "But no one really has the manpower just to sit out on these roadways and do traffic interdiction.

"If (the haulers) don't get caught, the payoff is big; that's why they take the chance. The people who are making the money are never touching the stuff. That's the ones (law enforcement) really want to get at."