Pubdate: Thu, 31 Jan 2002
Source: Advocate, The (LA)
Copyright: 2002 The Advocate, Capital City Press
Contact:  http://www.theadvocate.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2
Author: Marlene Naanes, Advocate staff writer
Note: The Associated Press and Advocate staff writers Kevin Blanchard, 
Emily Kern and Bob Anderson contributed to this report.

OPERATION FROSTBITE SNARES 875 DRUG SUSPECTS

A six-month statewide investigation into illegal drug activity climaxed 
Wednesday with authorities arresting more than 875 suspected drug dealers, 
ranging from street-level distributors to interstate trafficking rings.

Operation Frostbite identified about 1,000 suspects and authorities will 
attempt to arrest the remaining 125, Dale J. Broussard, director of the 
Sheriff's Association Violent Crimes and Narcotics Strike Force, said.

About 55 sheriff's offices worked with about 20 other law-enforcement 
agencies. East Baton Rouge Parish didn't participate in Wednesday's 
arrests, but helped Frostbite on a smaller scale, sheriff's spokesman Lt. 
Darrell O'Neal said.

"When something like this happens, I think it sends out a message that 
we're not going to put up with this in Louisiana," Attorney General Richard 
Ieyoub said.

Every arrest was for a felony crime, authorities said, and most involved 
distribution or manufacturing of cocaine or methamphetamine. An arrest in 
New Iberia led to the seizure of 6 to 7 pounds of cocaine from a chain 
operating out of Tennessee. Other arrests also resulted in the confiscation 
of weapons, money and vehicles used in drug operations.

Authorities said they won't know the amount of drugs confiscated or the 
largest seizures until all agencies compile their numbers, but the highest 
profile cases included five methamphetamine laboratory busts in the cities 
of Eunice and Lafayette and in Bienville and Tangipahoa parishes.

"Meth labs have a large capacity to distribute," Sheriff's Association 
President Hal Turner said. "The sad part is there's no telling how much 
they've made."

Only two arrests turned violent after suspects drew guns on arresting 
deputies, but no one was seriously hurt. The suspects suffered 
nonlife-threatening gunshot wounds, St. James Parish Sheriff Willy Martin 
Jr. said.

Although Acadia Parish Sheriff Ken Goss said 65 to 70 percent of the people 
arrested will bond out of jail within 24 hours, many will be arrested 
again, resulting in longer jail terms. Those arrested also provide 
detectives with information on more drug dealers, he said.

Large-scale operations such as Frostbite are highly effective in rounding 
up more people and drugs, although the number of people higher than street 
level dealers were unknown at press time, Broussard said.

However, using undercover agents to conduct investigations that lead to one 
bust prevents dealers from getting word of arrests and, in turn, fleeing. 
Time spent investigating also allows agents to move up the chain of command 
in drug rings, possibly leading to leaders, Broussard said.

LSU Professor John Baker agrees.

"It's the only way they can get up the line," said Baker, who tried drug 
cases in Orleans Parish and now teaches at LSU's Paul M. Hebert Law Center. 
"If you get one big guy, it's much better than more littler ones."

Pooling efforts of federal agencies also provides smaller local agencies 
with personnel and high-tech equipment they may not have access to, 
Broussard said.

East Baton Rouge sheriff's detectives often work with the Police Department 
and federal agents, so they must follow their partners' procedures, which 
usually don't include holding warrants. East Baton Rouge Parish detectives 
arrested 67 people on 169 drug charges in December, sheriff's spokesman 
O'Neal said.

Detectives only hold warrants in cases in which an investigation may be 
hindered by arrests of those involved, he said.

Funding is also difficult -- putting together money for overtime for 
deputies, for example, Hebert, the Iberia Parish sheriff, said.

The Attorney General's Office helped out with funding in Wednesday's 
endeavour, he said. Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement grants provided 
Frostbite with 90 percent of its funding, Broussard said.

Round-up arrests also cause back-ups in drug courts and Parish Prison, 
O'Neal said.

"If we congest the system, there may be a problem," he said. "We don't want 
to put our jail space in jeopardy."

However, Baker said overcrowding is not a significant factor in large-scale 
operations such as Frostbite because many prisons are paid to take prisoner 
overloads.

As keepers of parish jails, many sheriffs involved in Frostbite planned for 
Wednesday's roundup by ensuring space was available, Hebert said.

Surrounding parishes that participated in Frostbite reported the following 
results:

In Iberville Parish, the Sheriff's Office, with help from the Plaquemine 
Police Department, arrested seven people on drug counts Wednesday morning, 
most of whom are accused of selling cocaine to undercover law enforcement 
officers, a Sheriff's Office news release said.

The Sheriff's Office still has several outstanding warrants, and these 
people will be arrested as they are found and as jail space becomes 
available, the news release said.

In addition to those arrested Wednesday, the Iberville Sheriff's Office and 
Plaquemine Police have made 18 arrests this month in preparation for this 
operation, the release said. Earlier this month, the Sheriff's Office 
seized more than $100,000 in narcotics-related asset seizures, the release 
said.

In Iberia Parish, Sheriff Hebert said deputies rounded up 34 people from 
their 38 warrants.

Suspects booked into the Iberia Parish Jail are all tested for cocaine and 
marijuana. Seventy-eight percent of people booked test positive for one or 
both drugs, Hebert said. That shows what a big factor drug use is in crime 
- -- even crimes not directly related to drug trafficking such as domestic 
violence, he said.

Vermilion Parish Ray LeMaire said deputies found 16 of the 26 suspects 
Wednesday morning. He stressed that undercover deputies work every day to 
build cases.

St. Martin deputies arrested 25 people on 27 warrants. Acadia Parish 
deputies arrested 23 of 28. Lafayette Metro Narcotics -- which includes 
Lafayette Police and Lafayette sheriff's deputies -- arrested 11 people on 
40 warrants.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake