Pubdate: Mon, 29 Oct 2007
Source: Albuquerque Tribune (NM)
Copyright: 2007 The Albuquerque Tribune
Contact:  http://www.abqtrib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/11
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

AROUND HERE, METH BUST NO DROP IN BUCKET

It certainly wasn't Albuquerque's "French Connection,"  nor even, 
perhaps, much of a Mexican connection.

But in the crime-ridden realm of illegal drug  trafficking and using, 
it should at least be one heck  of an inconvenience.

At the end of the day, last week's area-wide meth raid  bust - 
organized by the Bernalillo County Sheriff's  Department - we hope 
will put more than a dent in local  methamphetamine drug trafficking.

We all can hope it leaves a gaping hole, despite the  assessment of 
seasoned federal Drug Enforcement Agency  Agent Evelyn Kilgas that it 
will hardly be noticed by  the Mexican cartels that furnish the drugs 
confiscated  in the raid.

As Tribune Reporter Maggie Shepard detailed Friday in  "Meth raid 'a 
drop in the bucket,' DEA says," the raid  produced some impressive numbers.

Sheriff's deputies raided 25 homes, mostly in  Albuquerque, arresting 
24 people on 31 warrants, and  confiscated 2 pounds of 
Mexican-produced meth worth  about $250,000 on the street. Deputies 
broke down the  arrests as including five ring leaders, two main 
distributors, nine street sellers and more than a dozen  users.

Not a bad day's work, considering the ramifications of  removing that 
quantity of drugs from the local streets,  putting several drug 
players into the judicial system  and making it a bit harder for 
users to score.

As Sheriff Darren White told Shepard, users are not  inconsequential 
to the drug enforcement equation.

"They are the ones breaking into homes and stealing  cars to feed 
their addiction," he explained.

It's instructive to examine a city map created by  Tribune artist 
Charlotte Hill Cobb, on which the homes  of the meth suspects who 
were arrested Thursday morning  are pinpointed. They are relatively 
evenly distributed  across the city, which suggests that drug traffic 
is part of the whole city's fabric.

Indeed, suspected ring leader Jason Matthews, 27, lived  near a 
school, which under law is a drug-free zone  violation, which carries 
additional, stiffer penalties.

All of which should make us cheer, in a nervous sort  way, because 
while we'd all like to think that illegal  drugs are somebody else's 
problem, the tale of this  successful bust suggests otherwise.

Still, success can be a relative term. As Kilgas  observed, "For them 
(the Mexican cartels) this is a  drop in the bucket. This is the cost 
of doing business.  Two pounds? This is an acceptable loss for them."

The obvious question is: What's an unacceptable loss,  and why can't 
law enforcement cause more of those?

The answer is just as obvious. As Shepard reported, the  bust 
involved a lot of work: It was the result of a  yearlong 
investigation in which detectives used  wiretaps, surveillance and 
other techniques to establish the drug-ring leadership.

Which brings us full circle. Bringing down this small  meth ring may 
not get more than a shrug from the  Mexican drug cartels, but across 
Albuquerque's  neighborhoods, it is likely to pay some handsome 
anti-drug dividends.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman