II. METHODOLOGY

• All DEA resources are 100 percent drug-related.

III. PROGRAM SUMMARY

• DEA is the lead Federal agency for the enforcement of narcotics and controlled substance laws and regulations. The agency's priority mission is the long-term immobilization of major drug trafficking organizations through the removal of their leaders, termination of their trafficking networks and seizure of their assets.



• DEA supports the Federal drug control priorities through its programs that reduce domestic drug-related crime and violence, reduce the domestic drug production and availability, and continue to target for investigation and prosecution those who illegally manufacture, traffic in, and distribute illicit drugs in the United States. DEA's primary responsibilities, organized by goal, include the following:

• DEA's Demand Reduction Program provides leadership, coordination, and resources for drug prevention and education in each of DEA's 21 domestic field divisions. These programs are operated by 22 Special Agents, known as Demand Reduction Coordinators, who have a broad range of experience in dealing with law enforcement, community groups, young people, employers, educators, health care professionals, and others.



• The six priorities of this program are: Anti-Legalization Education; Training for Law Enforcement Personnel; Youth Programs; Drug-Free Workplace Programs; Support for Community-Based Coalitions; and, Sports Drug Awareness Programs.

• The State and Local Task Force Program assists in fulfilling DEA's responsibility to provide a diverse, creative, and all-encompassing Federal response to the multi-faceted and complex drug problem to state and local law enforcement agencies. The program expands the work force under DEA's supervision; provides state and local officers with special equipment and conveyances when needed for DEA undercover operations; contributes substantial intelligence to DEA's data bases; and achieves enhanced cooperation with local banks, thus improving DEA's ability to obtain emergency flash rolls and temporary storage of funds.



• The Mobile Enforcement Teams (METs) program provides a supportive role in investigations that are targeted by state and local agencies based on their own local priorities. The mission of the METs is to dismantle drug organizations by securing the conviction and incarceration of those individuals dealing drugs and causing violence in these communities. DEA's METs are specifically designed to deal with the most violent and dangerous elements of drug trafficking -- organized violent drug trafficking organizations.



• DEA is a major participant in the HIDTA and OCDETF

• The Domestic Enforcement Program includes the investigative operations of DEA's 21 field divisions and the operational coordination functions located at DEA Headquarters. The program employs the bulk of DEA's Special Agents and uses a variety of sophisticated investigative tools. They rely on information obtained from informants, internal intelligence sources, as well as the input of other Federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations. The program's financial investigations identify and trace assets subject to seizure and forfeiture which leads to the destruction of the economic bases supporting drug trafficking enterprises. It also includes DEA's Special Enforcement Programs (SEP's), Title III intercept operations, and the Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program.



• DEA's Foreign Cooperative Investigations Program (FCIP) is designed to advise, assist, and encourage foreign governments to develop effective drug control strategies. DEA also works with foreign governments and law enforcement agencies to investigate international trafficking organizations and chemical diversion and drug money laundering activities; and participates in bilateral and multilateral drug suppression programs. DEA's FCIP now includes resources for foreign Special Enforcement Operations/ Programs (SEO/P), including OPBAT and the Northern Border Response Force (NBRF).



• DEA's Intelligence program is comprised of four components: financial, operational, strategic, and the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC). The Intelligence Program also provides leadership in the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC). The Financial Intelligence program focuses on fiscal aspects of the drug trade by identifying the development of financial conspiracy. DEA's Operational Intelligence program gathers, organizes, and analyzes information to support active drug investigations. The Strategic Intelligence program produces comprehensive assessments and reports of drug trafficking patterns, availability levels, and consumption rates and averages. The National Drug Intelligence Center is a DOJ multi-agency facility that produces comprehensive analyses of drug trafficking and trafficking organizations.



• The Research, Engineering and Technical Operations program is responsible for providing new technology and scientific support to the operational elements of DEA; enhancing technical equipment, aircraft, and personnel resources to improve investigative capabilities and personnel safety; and improving the speed, mobility, vantage, and maneuverability qualities unique to aircraft operations.



• The Drug and Chemical Diversion Control program directs DEA's worldwide drug and chemical diversion control activities which include diversion investigations, domestic and international diversion control, registration, voluntary compliance, state assistance, industry liaison and associated support programs.

IV. BUDGET SUMMARY

1997 Base Program

• In support of DEA's investigative, coordination and intelligence responsibilities in FY 1997, directly appropriated funding resources include $1,054 million and 6,519 FTEs. This represents an increase of $187.3 million over FY 1996 actuals.



• For FY 1997, OCDETF resources include $94.0 million and 987 FTEs.

• The FY 1998 President's budget for DEA includes a request of $1,145.8 million and 6,947 FTEs, an increase of $91.8 million over 1997 enacted levels. The following provides a breakdown of the FY 1998 request by Strategy goal.

• The FY 1998 request for Goal 1 totals $3.2 million, an increase of $0.4 million over FY 1997 enacted levels. This increase maintains program at current levels.

• The FY 1998 request for Goal 2 totals $173.2 million, an increase of $18.8 million over FY 1997 enacted levels. This increase covers the projected costs of the current program and does not include any program enhancements.

• The FY 1998 request for Goal 5 totals $969.5 million, a net increase of $72.6 million over FY 1997 enacted levels. The net increase includes base adjustments and program enhancements for the following five strategic funding initiatives: Southwest border, Investigative Shortfall, Heroin Strategy, Methamphetamine, and Laboratory Construction. The following FY 1998 enhancements include:



• Southwest border Initiative: The FY 1998 budget requests 192 positions (96 Special Agents, 50 intelligence analysts, and 46 support staff) and $29.7 million to apply investigative personnel and the latest investigative technology in continuance of the Department's comprehensive interagency strategy against drug trafficking on the Southwest border. Through the use of human and technological investigative resources, this enhancement will bolster Federal efforts to identify, penetrate, disrupt, and dismantle the major Mexican trafficking organizations operating throughout the Southwest border region. The initiative consists of three major components: Investigative Caseload, Investigative Equipment, and Intelligence.



• Investigative Shortfall Initiative: The FY 1998 budget requests 19 positions and $33.4 million to ensure that adequate resources are available for programs which support DEA enforcement operations. As funding for DEA leveled off during the mid 1990's, resources for a host of agency operational support programs were depleted in order to cover the cost of emerging enforcement needs. Enhancements within this initiative include $1.0 million for aircraft replacement, $4.7 million for ADP maintenance and equipment, $4.4 million for MERLIN, $15.0 million for FIREBIRD, $7.8 million for PCS, and 19 positions and $539,000 to support implementation of the 1996 Electronic Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) amendments.



• Heroin Strategy Initiative: The FY 1998 budget requests 60 positions (12 Special Agents, 20 intelligence analysts, and 28 support staff) and $5.0 million to continue efforts to reduce heroin trafficking within the United States. This initiative seeks to reduce the availability and purity of heroin in the U.S. and decrease the escalating number of heroin related emergency room episodes in country through intensification of enforcement efforts against major domestic and international heroin traffickers.



• Methamphetamine Initiative: The FY 1998 budget requests a total of 74 positions (including 60 Special Agents) and $11.0 million to fund a comprehensive approach for attacking methamphetamine abuse, a deadly and rapidly growing epidemic.

  This initiative seeks to target, investigate and prosecute major methamphetamine traffickers operating within the US and abroad, and to focus a coordinated Federal, and international effort to identify, investigate and dismantle clandestine drug laboratories operating in the US.




• Laboratory Construction Initiative: DEA requests $4.0 million for a multi-year project to reconstruct the agency's deteriorating laboratory facilities. Lease expirations, severe space shortages, and poor environmental conditions require DEA to replace and relocate at least five of the agency's eight forensic laboratories by the Year 2001. These laboratory facilities include the Southwest Laboratory (San Diego); the Mid-Atlantic laboratory (Washington, D.C.); the Southeast Laboratory (Miami); the Special Testing and Research Laboratory (McLean, VA); and the Western Laboratory (San Francisco). Most of these laboratories were designed in the early 1970's and no longer meet modern health and safety standards, or the agency's ever increasing operational support requirements.



• In addition, DEA is requesting $96.6 million and 855 FTEs from the OCDETF program.

V. PROGRAM STATISTICS

	1996 Actual	1997 Estimate	1998 Projected
DEA Initiated Arrests	4,483	4,733	4,973
Other Federal Arrests	1,222	1,290	1,356
DEA Cooperative Arrests	7,294	7,701	8,092
State & Local Task Force Arrests	7,146	7,146	7,146
Foreign Cooperative Arrests	1,650	1,845	2,035
Value of Assets Seized ($000)
- DEA	$720,083	$750,000	$750,000
- DEA/OCDETF	162,500	162,500	162,500
- State & Local Task Force	81,800	81,800	81,800
Federal Lab Exhibits Analyzed	43,401	46,439	49,670

VI. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Zorro II Investigation



• In May 1996, DEA, while working with dozens of Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, culminated an 18-month investigation that resulted in the shutdown of a cocaine trafficking partnership between the Cali mafia and a major Mexican mafia trafficking organization. This partnership was responsible for bringing multi-ton kilogram quantities of cocaine into the United States through the Southwest border and eventually to small U.S. towns such as Rocky Mount, North Carolina.



• The culmination of this investigation resulted in the arrest of 156 suspects, including key Cali and Mexican mafia figures; the seizure of over 5,500 kilograms of cocaine and 1,000 pounds of marijuana; and the seizure of several million dollars of drug proceeds. Most importantly, this investigation resulted in the dismantling of a major conduit for cocaine entering the United States destined for American communities.



• MET Deployment in Rampart Division of Los Angeles



• In January 1996, Los Angeles Chief of Police Willie Williams requested the support of DEA's Los Angeles MET to help combat escalating gang and drug violence in the Rampart Division of Southeast Los Angeles. The Rampart area is considered to be one of the most dangerous, averaging 14 homicides per month, half of which are drug-related and involving more than 13 gangs.



• The deployment began on April 23 and concluded on July 12, 1996. In addition to the arrests made by other agencies, the MET arrested 141 defendants on drug charges, of which 45 are considered violent gang members. According to reports from the area, overall violent crime in the target area dropped 25 percent since the deployment.

• Foreign Cooperative Investigations



• Bogota: Operation Selva Verde is a cooperative, bilateral operation between DEA's Bogota Country Office and the Colombian National Police (CNP) Anti-Narcotics Unit. The primary purpose of this operation is to locate and destroy clandestine laboratories, airstrips and storage sites. A secondary purpose is to form a strong narcotics intelligence and operational alliance between DEA and the Government of Colombia. The Bogota Country Office assists the CNP in developing and managing sources of information, as well as debriefings and payments to these individuals. In addition, DEA provides aircraft and the Air Intelligence Group as aerial intelligence platforms to support this program.



• During 1996, four major HCL laboratory sites were identified and destroyed -- three of the sites were destroyed by the CNP in cooperation with the Bogota Country Office in Operation Selva Verde. The fourth site consisted of an HCL laboratory and a separate stand alone large chemical synthesis complex. This fourth laboratory site identified and destroyed by the Colombian Army after a site visit by DEA.