Pubdate: Wed, 16 May 2001
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (AR)
Copyright: 2001 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.ardemgaz.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/25
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption)

DEA STARTS INQUIRY INTO CARIBBEAN OFFICE

WASHINGTON -- The Drug Enforcement Administration, responding to reports 
that its Caribbean office routinely falsified claims of drug arrests and 
seizures, said Tuesday it is reviewing the practices of that office.  The 
Miami Herald reported in its Tuesday editions that agents in the DEA's 
office in San Juan, Puerto Rico, claimed credit for hundreds of arrests 
that were made by police.

A former supervisor told the newspaper that 70 percent of the arrests the 
DEA claimed from 1998 through 2000 were phony.

Thomas Hinojosa, a DEA spokesman, confirmed that the reporting practices of 
the office are being reviewed.

Special Agent Waldo Santiago, spokesman for the DEA Caribbean office, said 
he had no knowledge of supervisors pushing for inflated arrest numbers. He 
added that for every statistic claimed by the office, there has to be an 
arrest report.

"There's a system -- we can't just claim 100 arrests. You have to arrest 
100 people."
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager