From Tulsa World (OK)

By Nicole Marshall World Staff Writer

tulsaworld@mail.webtek.com

March 1, 1998

Drug Seizures Show Sharp Rise

Efforts Targeting Street Sales Paying Off

Narcotics officers assigned to the Tulsa Police Department’s Special Investigations Division confiscated a record $3.7 million in marijuana alone last year. That’s compared to $2.3 million in pot seized in 1996.

The combined total of other drugs had a street value of more than $1.2 million, an increase over the $813,965 seized in 1996.

Police based prices on the average street value of the drugs. Marijuana averages $1,000 per pound, and one plant typically yields one pound. (Ed. note: Oh, really?) Cocaine and methamphetamine were each valued at $100 a gram or $1,000 per ounce of cocaine and $1,200 per ounce of methamphetamine.

Top drug cops say the increase does not signal a rise in drug sales here, but rather that their aggressive efforts targeting drug sales are paying off.

"I want to see the number of drug seizures go up," said SID Major Bill Wells. "I will be disappointed next year if the numbers don’t rise."

One of the main reasons for the sharp rise in drug seizures was that Tulsa police narcotics officers are now sharing intelligence with members of the Southwest and Border States Region of the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

Police previously worked with the OCDEFT region that was based out of Kansas, Wells said.

"We are getting a lot better intelligence now about people who are carrying drugs from the border states and will be traveling through our area," Wells said.

Training patrol officers in "concealment techniques" has also contributed to the increase, he said. The training has taught patrol officers where to look in vehicles to find a drug dealer’s secret stash. If officers find large stashes, they will call SID officers to investigate, he said.

Drug seizure statistics can be a good indicator of what types of drugs police see on the street and what trends may soon beset the city’s drug culture, Wells said. But they do not give an accurate representation of the scope of drug sales occurring.

While the numbers show how much the SID drug squad scored, the drugs confiscated by patrol officers are not added to the unit’s year-end total. Other agencies, such as the FBI, DEA and Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, also seize drugs in Tulsa, and their seizures are not added in with the SID figures, Wells said.

"As a result, I do not know if it will ever be possible to get an accurate picture of drug seizures," Wells said.

Even so, it is clear that marijuana is far and above the most commonly used and sold drug in this area, he said.

Methamphetamine ranks second and appears to be on the rise, as the materials to make the illicit substance become increasingly easier to obtain, Wells said.

"There is a lot more meth being produced, and it is a lot easier to do now than before," Wells said.

SID officers confiscated $527,200 worth of methamphetamine in 1996 and $680,475 in 1997.

While heroin seizures dropped last year, Wells said that is not indicative of the trend. The narcotic has been highly publicized nationally as making a comeback.

Officers confiscated $7,800 worth of heroin in 1996 and $5,350 worth of the drug in 1997.

"In the first two months of this year we seized twice as much as we did all last year," Wells said. "We will be seeing more of it in the years to come. We are usually about five years behind the trends that are occurring on the coasts."

Police seized an unusually large amount of phencyclidine, commonly known as PCP, in 1997. SID officers were involved in one traffic stop that netted $253,000 worth of the drug, he said.

"The year before we didn’t seize any," Wells said. "It’s just not a drug we have a problem with around here anymore. We used to see a lot of it, but even the hardest drug dealers and users have come to the conclusion that it is a very dangerous drug."

"We got all of the PCP confiscated in 1997 from one stop, and it was not intended for Tulsa. We seized that from someone who was passing through," Wells said.

Police also confiscated more cocaine and illegal pharmaceuticals last year. The amount of cocaine seized went from $263,115 to $291,205, and other drugs increased from $15,850 to $19,738.

In addition to drugs, narcotics officers seized $591,081 in currency, vehicles valued at $649,800 and $176,325 worth of other property last year.

The Asset Forfeiture Unit filed 398 requests with the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office in 1997, records show.

Seizures included 105 vehicles, 256 guns and other assorted weapons and a wide variety of electronic equipment, including scales, televisions, computers and security monitoring equipment, said Sgt. Wayne Allen.

"If we can show that the property was bought with drug proceeds, we will take it," Wells said.

And instead of throwing all of the equipment away, police donated some for use in several Tulsa-area schools.

A total of 150 electronic and balance scales were donated to Foster Middle School and Memorial, Union and Bixby high schools for use in science programs, Wells said. In addition to the scales, Foster Middle School also received several indoor grow lights and transformers.

The value of the equipment donated to schools was $30,000.

"The judges say that we either have to put them to good use or destroy them. It just makes sense that this property be used for a good purpose," Wells said.

Arrest statistics show that what used to be the department’s vice squad now focuses almost exclusively on narcotics investigations.

Wells said SID began focusing on narcotics investigations in the 1980s when the department created Street Crimes units at each of the city’s three uniform divisions.

"That has allowed us the luxury of concerting our efforts on where to find the largest amount of drugs," Wells said.

"Street Crimes officers are right there working side by side with patrol officers. If patrol officers are having a problem with prostitution, then Street Crimes officers can work with them on that. They are right there working together."

SID officers arrested four people on gambling charges, six people on prostitution charges and 518 people on drug charges in 1997. With 124 other arrests, the total number of felony arrests came to 652, records show.