DRUG SMUGGLERS LYING LOW, HIDING FROM MIAMI TASK FORCE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84B00049R001700210012-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 27, 2006
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: April 14, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Vol. 12 No. 8
DRUG SMUGGLERS LYING LOW,
HIDING FROM MIAMI TASK FORCE
Tidal Wave Becomes A Trickle
Marijuana and cocaine smuggling in Miami
has drawn to a near standstill, and the price is
"dropping like mad" in Colombia, says the man
in charge of the Vice Presidential Task Force on
South Florida Crime.
"It's going to be a long haul. It's not a prob-
lem you can solve overnight," Admiral Daniel
Murphy said April 7 on his third recent visit to
Miami.
April 14, 1982
Murphy, chief of staff for Vice President
George Bush, reported that the amount of mari-
juana and cocaine being smuggled into South Flor-
ida has been reduced to "a little bit."
"There's a little bit coming in, but compared
to the flow that we faced a while back, it's down
to a trickle," he said.
(See FLORIDA, page eight)
SOUTH FLORIDA: Dope Imports Drop . . . . . . I
INFORMANT FUNDS: Establishing Strict Controls . . I
DEA: Some -Questions From The GAO . . . . .
. 1
VIDEO GAMES: Attracting Drug Dealers, Users
I
Singin' The Same Ole Country Song . . . . . .
. 8
Watch Out For Bad "Quaaludes" . . . . . . .
. 9
PARAQUAT: Squabble May Flare Up Again . . .
. 9
IN THE COURTS
10
Burgers, Fries And A Task Force - To Go . . . .
.10
Page I
HOW TO SET UP STRICT CONTROLS
FOR UNDERCOVER FUNDS
By Howard A. Katz
Instructor, Criminal Justice
College of The Mainland, Texas City, TX
The integrity of the special investigation unit
responsible for narcotics, vice, or intelligence acti-
vities - and its agents - is most vulnerable when it
comes to the handling of confidential undercover
operation funds. Unless every penny is accounted
(Continued on page two)
GAO SEEKING CONFIDENTIAL
INFO ON DEA INVESTIGATIONS
Officials of the General Accounting Office
(GAO) and the Drug Enforcement Administra-
tion are trying to reach agreement on the release
of confidential information sought by the GAO,
the watchdog agency of Congress.
NY SURVEY FINDS VIDEO GAME
PARLORS ALSO FEATURE DRUGS
Julio A. Martinez, director of the New York
State Division of Substance Abuse Serivce, has
announced that a just-completed study of New
York City video game parlors - including store-
fronts and shops which feature video games -
revealed that drugs such as marijuana and cocaine
are sold and used at a majority of the surveyed sites.
(See VIDEO GAMES, page seven)
An Independent News Summary &information Exchange
RICHARD J. O CONNELL,Publisher BETTY B. BOSARGE Editor NANCY VAN WYEN, Subscription Director
Published Bi-Weekly by Washington Crime News Services 7620 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, Virginia 22003.
Phone [phone]. $85 per year; multi-copy rates and 30-day trial subscription available on request,
Approved ForRelease 200 1Q 1 x`2'1 _1,7 ,1 8' '0 9I W11X50210012-3
 Approved For Release 2006/06127 :CIA-RDIt49R001700210012-3
? Pa-e,8.,,,
NARCOTICS CONTROL DIGEST
.:.SAME OLE ME:.. SAME OLE DRUGS
Country singer George Jones was charged with
possession of cocaine and public drunkenness on
March,29 after-police in Jackson, Miss., stopped his
car for an alleged speeding violation, officials said.
Jones, 50, and N` ancy Sepulvado, 33, were
charged after a state Highway Patrol officer clocked
Jones'' car at 91 miles per hour; said Tom Dial,
director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.
'7 ..Jones and:Sepulvado were jailed briefly at
the Hinds County jail, then were released on their
own'recognizance, Dial said.
,, j ,,The Bureau of Narcotics sent agents and a
drug-sniffing dog to the scene. Dial said the dog
found a white powder on the floor mats that was
identified as cocaine after analysis at the state
crime laboratory. "It was a very small amount,
but it will be prosecuted as a felony," Dial said.
Jones, the Country Music Association's
male vocalist of the year for the last two years, has
been touring to promote his new album Same Ole
Me .
(FLORIDA, continued from page one)
The drug smugglers are worried, he said.
"They're taking it very, very seriously. We've got
drug-suspect airplanes all over the Bahamas. Noth-
ing is moving. This comes from what looks to me
to be a very well-coordinated effort by all of the
.law enforcement people that are on station here
and participating'in this Vice Presidential Task
Force"-'
'"Murphy warned that Federal agencies must
not fall,into a trap.,of thinking the drug smuggling
problem is over, because the drug entrepreneurs
will rebound. : .
"If,you were on their side you would say,
`Well,that's good: Let's lay low for 90 days.' And
they have the stuff down in the islands, stashed
down in Colombia. And they will look to see what
happens after 90 days is up.
April 14, 1982
"The price of cocaine and marijuana is drop-
ping like mad in Colombia. The cost of moving
the stuff is skyrocketing," said Murphy. "There's
a big squeeze on those that are making a living
out of this drug business. We don't know how
long they can hold back."
(GAO, continued from page one)
A DEA spokesman said members of the two
agencies met. April 9 and there is "a possibility
of more meetings this week."
In an unusual move, the GAO recently com-
plained to President Reagan that the DEA was
withholding information needed by the congres-
sional investigating agency. V
The GAO had been requested by Sen. Jo-
seph Biden (D-Del.) to review the DEA's efforts
to crack down on major drug traffickers. But
DEA officials declined to release the information.
Comptroller General Charles Bowsher first
wrote to Attorney General William French Smith
March 1, but reportedly got no satisfaction.
Then, acting under a two-year-old law,
Bowsher notified Reagan of the problem last
week. He said the GAO might have to take DEA
to court to obtain the information,
Officials of the two agencies scheduled their
meeting April 9 after word of the dispute and the
plea to the White House became known.
Bowsher, in his letter to Smith, said his
agency would "in accordance with our usual
practice, take all steps necessary to guard against
unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confiden-
tail information.
The GAO asked for access to case records
in Los Angeles, Boston, New York and San Diego.
Most were denied, a GAO spokeswoman said. w