Pubdate: Fri 5 Feb 1999 Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (AR) Copyright: 1999, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Contact: http://www.ardemgaz.com/ Author: Kenneth Heard - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette WESTBOUND I-40 POURS DRUG CASH ON POLICE WEST MEMPHIS -- Routine traffic stops in Crittenden County are yielding sizable hauls of confiscated cash, indicating that drug trafficking along the corridors of Interstates 40 and 55 is on the rise, police say. Four routine traffic checks in the past month have allowed officers to collect more than $1,130,084 in cash. And law enforcement authorities say the money may be small change in the drug trade. "For every one bust, there's got to be at least 20 that get by," said Mickey Thornton, an investigator with the Crittenden County Drug Task Force. "What gets you is that we're just getting the tip of the iceberg." Police officers refer to the eastbound lanes of I-40 as "the drug side" and the westbound lanes as "the money side," where the cash is hauled back to the drug manufacturers. On Jan. 13, West Memphis police officers seized $741,104 from a vehicle on I-40. Task force agents also confiscated $72,320 during a routine stop of a passenger van on I-40 Jan. 18. Two stops this week netted other sizable takes: Monday, West Memphis police confiscated $115,660 found floating in a car's gasoline tank on I-40; the next day the Arkansas Highway Police seized $201,000 in an 18-wheeler southbound on I-55 at a Marion weigh station. In March of 1998, the Arkansas Highway Police, a traffic enforcement agency of the state Highway and Transportation Department, confiscated $3.1 million when officers conducted a routine inspection of a truck near the Lehi weigh station on I-40. It was the largest cash seizure in the state's history and the fourth-largest in the United States, department spokesman Randy Ort said. Ort said the increase in busts could be the result of more officer training. "I am hesitant to speculate on the increase," he said. "But our officers go through extensive training to inspect commercial vehicles. That extra training has obviously paid off." Officers stop vehicles on the interstates for routine traffic violations. If what officers call "red flags" are observed, they ask motorists for consent to search the vehicles. Red flags include discrepancies in drivers' and passengers' stories or odd-looking body work on vehicles. "If you stop someone who's hauling drugs or money, 99.9 percent of the time the driver and passenger will have conflicting stories about where they are headed," said Sgt. David Bassford of the West Memphis Police Department said. "If those flags go up, we ask for their consent to search the car." In many cases, motorists claim they don't know where the money came from. If the money is not tainted by drugs and detected by drug-sniffing dogs, the motorists are often released. But the money is confiscated. When money is confiscated during traffic stops, law enforcement agencies can go through either federal or state civil forfeiture procedures to obtain some of the money seized. It is more lucrative for agencies to use federal procedures because they can receive up to 80 percent of the cash. Under Arkansas forfeiture law, the maximum an agency can keep in a single confiscation is $250,000, regardless of the total seized. Any amount over the $250,000 cap would go to the state's asset forfeiture fund. Because law enforcement agencies that have confiscated more than $250,000 have always gone through federal forfeiture procedures to get back the money, the state's asset forfeiture fund is penniless, state officials say. Arkansas legislators are debating revamping the state's forfeiture statute to help fund the state Crime Laboratory. State Sen. Wayne Dowd, D-Texarkana, is sponsoring Senate Bill 94, which would require law enforcement agencies to file with the Administrative Office of Courts a record of money or other items seized during traffic stops. "If they change that, we'll be out of a job," the county drug task force's Thornton speculated about a law that would give the state a bigger bite of the money. "No local government is going to pay [for drug enforcement] that kind of money that we get [from confiscation]." Four agencies -- the Arkansas State Police, the Arkansas Highway Police, the Crittenden County Drug Task Force and West Memphis police - -- are all involved in drug interdiction programs along the interstates in Crittenden County. Arkansas State Police Sgt. Steve Gray of Forrest City said that has helped in making more confiscations. "There's more people looking for it now," Gray said. "There's more of an emphasis on drugs. Everybody's looking. Sooner or later they're going to find something." But he added that he thought drug dealing also was on the rise. He said police also have noticed an increase in the use of tractor-trailer rigs to haul drugs or money across the country. The interstate system is the main route for drug dealers, police say. Drugs from California cross the country on I-40. Drugs in Texas and Mexico are hauled north on Interstate 30 to Little Rock and then east on I-40. Most of the drugs are marijuana and cocaine headed for the East Coast. "A lot of the marijuana is from Mexico, where it's a higher grade," Crittenden County Sheriff Richard Busby said. "I guess the Yankees up North like that kind. "Busts like we've had here aren't going to stop [drug trafficking]," he added. "It's a big business. If they lose a couple hundred thousand dollars but slip a million through, they've still made a lot of money." Thornton called I-40 "the drug pipeline." He said it may be more lucrative for officers to patrol only the westbound lanes of the interstate in hopes of making more cash confiscations, but such selective seizures probably would not hold up in court. "Besides," Thornton said, "drug enforcement is our job." He said dealers have become more inventive in hiding drugs and money in their vehicles. Contraband used to be hidden in bags in the trunk or in suitcases in the back seats. Now, he said, hidden compartments are common. He said he recalls one instance where deputies could access a secret panel in a vehicle's back seat only after turning on a series of vehicle instruments, including a rear-window defogger. "It's like a game for everyone," Thornton said. "How well can they hide it and how well can we find it? "There's so much money involved in the drug business. No matter what we do, they're still going to keep on doing it." - --- MAP posted-by: derek rea