DEA
Congressional Testimony
Statement
by:
Joseph D.
Keefe
Special Agent in Charge
Special Operations Division
Drug Enforcement Administration
Before
the:
Subcommittee
on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources
Date:
May 26, 2000
Note: This document
may not reflect changes made in actual delivery.
Mr. Chairman, Members
of the Subcommittee: I appreciate the opportunity to appear today to discuss
the issue of the proliferation of drug trafficking through the public
and private mail services. I would first like to thank the Subcommittee
for its continued support of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
and overall support of drug law enforcement.
Drug traffickers
are continually looking for creative and innovative means to circumvent
and elude law enforcement from detecting their illicit contraband. They
look for new and different ways to transport and distribute their illegal
drugs. Their innovative abilities are keys to how successful they will
be and how much wealth they accumulate. Therefore, drug trafficking organizations
will exploit any means possible to safeguard their drug shipments from
law enforcement detection, and they do so without any regard to the wake
of destruction that drug use and abuse creates.
Drug trafficking
organizations have learned to be compartmentalized for security reasons.
This is to ensure that no individual member, if arrested, will have knowledge
of the entire inner workings of the organization. Drug traffickers recognize
that the transportation of drugs is the weakest link in the drug chain.
Typically, drugs are most vulnerable to detection when they are transported
from one location to another. This is largely due to the fact that traffickers
utilize couriers who employ a variety of methods in an attempt to avoid
detection or suspicion by law enforcement. However, it is just this type
of habitual activity that trained law enforcement agents and officers
have learned to look for, which ultimately gives rise to suspicion. In
addition, though a drug courier's knowledge of the entire drug trafficking
organization may be limited, such limited information is vulnerable to
a variety of investigative methods used to target and dismantle the entire
drug trafficking organization.
As a result of aggressive,
proactive law enforcement operations, these drug trafficking organizations
have resorted to a number of methods and trends in order to minimize their
exposure to law enforcement. One such trend is the use of the private
and public mail service in order to transport and distribute a variety
of illegal drugs. While the proliferation of mail service businesses is
not necessarily a new trend, there has been a noticeable increase in the
use of the mail and overnight delivery services by various drug trafficking
groups.
The use of private
parcel companies provides trafficking groups the ability to transport
illegal drugs without utilizing traditional drug couriers. The absence
of this "human" element can frustrate interdiction efforts because packages
that are intercepted routinely have fictitious return addresses and are
often mailed to Post Office boxes or private mailboxes. This provides
the sender with the much needed anonymity in the event the package is
intercepted by law enforcement. In addition, the use of overnight delivery
services affords traffickers the ability to ship their illegal drugs rapidly.
In the event an overnight delivery package is interdicted, law enforcement
officers must work on an extremely limited time frame in order to secure
a search warrant for the package as well as initiate an operational plan
for a controlled delivery of suspected drug packages. Drug traffickers
have learned to grow suspicious of any delay in the delivery of these
overnight packages and will refuse delivery of a delayed parcel fearing
law enforcement intervention.
The investigation
of these types of interdiction cases requires a comprehensive and cooperative
law enforcement approach. In 1993, DEA recognized the need to formalize
this interdiction effort and subsequently established a Special Enforcement
Program which combined the talents of a variety of Federal, state and
local narcotic investigators who implemented a unique training program.
The purpose of the program is to provide uniform, standardized training
and statistical analysis to other Federal, state, and local drug interdiction
units working at a variety of locations including mail parcel facilities.
Over the years, this training, along with the combined investigations
of DEA, FBI, the U.S. Customs Service and members of state and local police
departments has resulted in numerous drug seizures and arrests. In Calendar
Year 1999, as a result of pursuing these types of investigations, approximately
9,843 kilograms of marijuana, 303 kilograms of Cocaine, 1 kilogram of
heroin and over $3.4 million in currency as well as 61 weapons were seized.
The continued success
of this type of enforcement operation is also contingent on the law enforcement
community's ability to cooperate with the various commercial delivery
services as well as the United States Postal Service. Historically, DEA
has enjoyed an outstanding relationship with these organizations, which
has resulted in continued success. Recently, Acting Administrator Marshall
directed the DEA Operations Division to coordinate future meetings with
the respective heads of the various commercial package delivery services.
It is our expectation that these meetings will be the impetus for a more
cohesive strategy between DEA and private industry relative to the problem
of drug smuggling through these services.
An example of such
cooperative investigative pursuits was the initiation of Operation Green
Air. On April 13, 2000, DEA, in conjunction with the U.S. Customs Service
(USCS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), various U.S. Attorneys' offices,
the DOJ/Criminal Division, a variety of local law enforcement agencies
and the Federal Express (FedEx) corporation, culminated an 18-month nationwide
investigation known as Operation Green Air. Operation Green Air targeted
a Los Angeles-based marijuana trafficking organization, which is estimated
to have made $30 million from illegal drug trafficking. The investigation
resulted in the arrests of over 104 individuals, the seizure of 35,000
pounds of marijuana and $4.2 million in U.S. currency and assets. The
investigation also focused on corrupt FedEx employees in Los Angeles,
Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, New York and New Jersey. Those charged include
25 employees of FedEx Corporation, including a FedEx security official
in New York City, customer service representatives and drivers. Federal
complaints and indictments charge various members of the organization
with the importation and distribution of more than 100 tons of marijuana.
Several of the defendants were charged with using FedEx Corporation airplanes,
trucks and facilities across the country to ship the marijuana with an
estimated wholesale value of $140 million.
Operation Green Air
identified a Jamaican national who had direct command and control of all
U.S. distribution cells for this marijuana trafficking organization. This
particular drug trafficking organization was found to have more than 100
members. The head of this organization recruited FedEx employees as participants
in the organization. The employees ensured that the marijuana was placed
on Federal Express aircraft for transportation from the West Coast to
the East Coast, provided security for the marijuana while the shipments
were housed in FedEx facilities, and subsequently delivered the marijuana
to members of the various distribution cells.
Other Federal Express
employees manipulated the corporations billing and internal accounting
procedures in order to conceal the cost and thwart any efforts to trace
these shipments. Federal Express internal records show that this organization's
manipulation resulted in the free shipment of approximately 117 tons of
gross weight (marijuana) from coast to coast. The marijuana was always
shipped in standard-sized cardboard boxes in order to fit on Federal Express
aircraft and the organization often placed laundry detergent and other
products inside the boxes in an effort to conceal the smell of the marijuana.
The drug proceeds
from the sale of the marijuana were collected in New York, Atlanta, Fort
Lauderdale, and other distribution cities. Jamaican females were utilized
as couriers to body-carry the money to Los Angeles on commercial airlines.
The investigation subsequently revealed that this organization transported
approximately $1 million a week to the Los Angeles-based cell. In addition,
the investigation revealed that organizational members invested drug proceeds
in businesses and properties located in Jamaica.
The outstanding success
of Operation Green Air highlights the effectiveness of such cooperative
drug investigations and serves as an example of what combined law enforcement
and private industry can accomplish in the fight against drug trafficking
in this nation.
Mr. Chairman, on
behalf of the men and women of the Drug Enforcement Administration, I
would like to thank you for the opportunity to testify before the Subcommittee
today. Let me assure you that the DEA will continue to develop and implement
innovative approaches in order to address the threat posed by drug traffickers.
We are committed to working cooperatively with our law enforcement partners
and with businesses and organizations that are dedicated to take a stand
against those individuals responsible for such criminal activity. At this
time I will be happy to entertain any questions you may have.
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