Pubdate: Fri, 26 Sep 2003 Source: Independent Florida Alligator, The (FL Edu) Copyright: 2003 Campus Communications, Inc Contact: http://www.alligator.org/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/760 Author: Kirsten Kridel Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture) DRUG BUST MONEY USED FOR ENFORCEMENT Editor's note: This is the first in a three-part series detailing Gainesville Police Department's Comprehensive Drug Plan to rid city streets of drug dealers. The Gainesville Police Department is reaping the benefits of an international drug bust operation from 1993 to 1997. Money paid to the departments of participating officers is making it possible for GPD to fight street-level drug use today. GPD received $5 million from the Department of Justice about four months ago, GPD spokesman Keith Kameg said. Police Chief Norman Botsford earmarked $307,000 for a Comprehensive Drug Plan. GPD was eligible for the money because officers Louis Acevedo, Julio Pomar and Jeff Nordberg were assigned to a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration task force that helped break up Claude DuBoc's international drug-smuggling ring, Acevedo said. "DuBoc had organized crime and terrorist ties to organizations such as the Irish Republican Army and Hell's Angels and to individuals who would supply arms to terrorist organizations in the Middle East," Acevedo said. DuBoc's organization had laundered hundreds of millions of dollars since the mid-to-late 1980s, Acevedo said. It obtained the money by transporting massive quantities of marijuana and hashish to the United States, said Acevedo, the only one of the three officers still working at GPD. Gainesville officers became involved when DuBoc smuggled large amounts of drugs into North Florida, he said. "The investigation led the local task force to Europe, Hong Kong, the Bahamas, Canada and all over the continental United States," Acevedo said. Acevedo said he posed undercover as a boat captain for a Colombia-based drug organization. "Eventually, DuBoc, who was a dual citizen of France and the United States, was arrested overseas," Acevedo said. The government confiscated $72 million in cash and assets, he said. GPD already has received $5 million and is anticipating more. Every organization that participated in the investigation is entitled to a part of the money, he said. Botsford said it took a long time to receive their portion of the money because several properties in different countries had to be sold. The Comprehensive Drug Plan, implemented in August, involves sending officers out on the streets to catch drug buyers and sellers in the act once or twice a week for the entire year, Kameg said. Botsford said he decided to spend the money on this initiative because the No. 1 complaint he receives from residents is the use of narcotics in neighborhoods. "It means we can do lots of things we wouldn't be able to do at no expense to the citizens of Gainesville," he said. Because the money came from drug dealers, it's only fair to use it to stop the problem, Botsford said. "We'd like to provide less opportunities for drug dealers," Botsford said. "When we appear before neighborhood groups, we hope they will feel more comfortable with their streets and sending kids out, knowing that there aren't drug dealers on the corner." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom