Pubdate: Sat, 23 Nov 2002 Source: North County Times (CA) Contact: 2002 North County Times Website: http://www.nctimes.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1080 Author: Seth Hettena, Associated Press DRUG SEIZURES AT CALIF. BORDER FALL SAN DIEGO -(AP)- The amount of drugs seized at five California border crossings fell for the first time in four years, reflecting a post-Sept. 11 security crackdown and stepped-up enforcement in Colombia and Mexico, authorities said Friday. U.S. Customs Service inspectors seized 158 tons of heroin, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine over the past 12 months. A year ago, the total was more than 244 tons. While the amount of drugs seized at border crossings represents only a fraction of the illegal narcotics entering the country from Mexico, it serves as an indicator of the success of U.S. interdiction efforts, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Still, federal authorities were reluctant to pat themselves on the back, noting that seizures rose in Texas and New Mexico, which suggests smugglers may be looking east. Along the entire 1,962-mile U.S.-Mexico border, drug seizures fell to 625 tons in fiscal year 2002 from 682 tons last year. "The whole phenomenon is like a balloon: You squeeze it in one area and it balloons out in another," said Vince Bond, a spokesman for the Customs Service in San Diego. In the 12 months ending Sept. 30, Customs inspectors in California seized 150 tons of marijuana, 8 1/2 tons of cocaine, a half-ton of methamphetamine and 284 pounds of heroin. A number of factors could be responsible for the drop in California, including the war on terrorism. Tighter security and more vehicle searches and identification checks -- aimed primarily at preventing future terrorist attacks -- have made smuggling more risky and less profitable, Bond said. "An inspector looks for an anomaly in the many, many cars and people who cross the border," Bond said. "They know something's not right, and that warrants a more thorough evaluation. It may be drugs. It may be terrorism." In Mexico, authorities scored a major victory with the arrest and death this year of the leaders of the Tijuana-based Arrellano-Felix cartel, which has employed legions of couriers to carry cocaine and marijuana across the border. President Vicente Fox has pledged to launch an all-out war on the drug trade, saying his administration would continue nabbing drug lords but also take on drug consumption and production in Mexico. In February, police officers in the resort city of Mazatlan gunned down Ramon Arellano Felix. A month later federal authorities captured his brother Benjamin, the gang's operations chief. Asa Hutchinson, the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration who visited the San Diego area Thursday, said his agents have noted a drop in the purity of cocaine in the last year by 9 percent, suggesting a weakening in supply. Hutchinson said the drop in purity was attributable, in part, to U.S. efforts in Colombia, which produces 90 percent of the world's cocaine. But much of the U.S. supply of cocaine comes through Mexico, and tougher enforcement has made trafficking more risky and expensive. "The risk has gone up," Hutchinson said. "We have hit the supply and I think we're seeing the impact." - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk