II. METHODOLOGY

• All Interagency Crime and Drug Enforcement (ICDE) resources are scored 100 percent drug-related. The ICDE appropriation provides funding to support and maintain the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program.

III. PROGRAM SUMMARY

• The OCDETF program currently constitutes a nationwide structure of 13 regional task forces which utilize the combined resources and expertise of member Federal agencies, in cooperation with state and local investigators and prosecutors, to target major narcotic trafficking and money laundering organizations. A restructuring of these regions to more closely align the program with current and emerging drug trafficking patterns, to cluster districts with common issues and drug trafficking threats, and to enhance communication and coordination within and among regions will be implemented in 1997. When completed, the number of task force regions will be reduced to nine. All programmatic functions support Goal 5 of the National Drug Control Strategy.



• The objectives of the OCDETF program are to target, investigate and prosecute individuals who organize, direct, finance, or otherwise engage in high-level illegal drug trafficking and related crime organizations; to promote a coordinated drug enforcement effort within each region and between regions, and encourage the maximum cooperation and coordination among the United States Attorney Offices and all Federal drug and drug-related law enforcement agencies; to work fully and effectively with State and local law enforcement and prosecution agencies; and to make full use of financial investigative techniques, including money laundering and tax enforcement and forfeiture actions against assets obtained as a result of illegal drug trafficking or related criminal activity.



• As part of the President's FY 1998 budget request, the Administration proposes the establishment of a similar office (DOJ's OCDETF program office) within the Treasury Department. This office will provide similar drug task force coordination among Treasury law enforcement Bureaus. The Treasury Department's FY 1998 request includes $73.8 million to establish this office and funding for on-going drug task force operations conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, Customs Service, and the Internal Revenue Service. Resources for these missions will be reflected as separate lines in the Treasury Interagency Crime and Drug Enforcement Account.



• Similarly, FY 1998 funding for the Coast Guard is reflected in the Coast Guard's FY 1998 drug budget request.

IV. BUDGET SUMMARY

1997 Base Program

• The FY 1997 base program totals $359.4 million and 3,692 FTEs for funding 11 participating agencies and is directed to four major functional activities. All activities of the OCDETF program support Goal 5 of the National Drug Control Strategy.



• Investigations activities include $268.2 million. The focus of OCDETF investigations are on the organized criminal enterprise leadership involved in drug trafficking and the breakup of the infrastructure of organized criminal enterprises. This includes the seizure and forfeiture of assets of organized criminal enterprises involved in narcotics trafficking.



• Drug Intelligence activities include $13.6 million designated for the FBI and the DEA for operation of Regional Drug Intelligence Squads (RDIS). The mission of the RDIS is to establish multi-agency squads to gather, analyze, and disseminate raw and processed data for strategic, tactical and operational intelligence support of ongoing or potential OCDETF investigations.



• A total of $77.2 million is available for drug-related prosecutions. Funding is used to reimburse the U.S. Attorneys, Criminal Division, and Tax Division for their investigative support and prosecutorial efforts towards OCDETF cases. Litigation efforts are targeted selectively on the criminal leadership involved in drug trafficking and are intended to dissolve organized illicit enterprises. This includes activities designed to secure the seizure and forfeiture of the assets of these enterprises.



• A fundamental purpose of the prosecution effort is to apply limited Federal prosecutive resources against those targets where successful prosecution can have the greatest and most lasting effect on the nation's drug abuse problem. The centralized and organized nature of the drug trade mandates that the Federal law enforcement and prosecution establishment incorporate successful experiences in combating organized crime. It also extends the successful OCDETF concept of actively targeting and pursuing the highest level drug offenders.

• The total FY 1998 drug control budget request is $295 million, a net decrease of $64.5 million over the FY 1997 enacted level. The FY 1998 figures reflect only those funds that will be appropriated for Justice accounts. Funding for Treasury accounts will be directly appropriated to the Bureau of Interagency Law Enforcement and funds for Coast Guard will be included in their appropriation. FY 1998 funding for Justice accounts represents an increase of $7.9 million over those same accounts in FY 1997 to maintain current operational levels.

V. PROGRAM STATISTICS

	1996 Actual	1997 Estimate	1998 Projected
Investigations Initiated	586	590	590
Indictments	1,495	1,495	1,495
Individuals Indicted	4,668	4,670	4,670
Convictions	3,945	3,945	3,945

VI. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• On August 2, 1996, the Attorney General approved a proposal to reduce the number of OCDETF regions from thirteen to nine. The revised regional structure is intended to respond more effectively to current and emerging drug trafficking patterns, to cluster districts with common issues and drug trafficking threats, and to enhance communication and coordination within and among districts. The new plan also complements the current and proposed locations of HIDTAs.



• The new regional structure will better enable OCDETF to support drug enforcement initiatives that impact OCDETF investigations, such as the Southwest border Initiative and the Methamphetamine Strategy.



• 1,495 cases were filed in FY 1996 against 4,668 OCDETF defendants.



• Of the OCDETF drug defendants whose cases were terminated during FY 1996, 85 percent are projected to be convicted.



• Of the OCDETF defendants convicted in FY 1996, 89 percent received prison sentences. Eighty-three defendants were sentenced to life in prison.



• A higher proportion of OCDETF defendants sentenced to prison in FY 1996 received sentences of 3 to 5 years (22.8 percent) than in any of the previous four years. Also, a higher proportion of OCDETF defendants received sentences of 5 years or more (50.8 percent) than in any of the previous four years.



• On May 2, 1996, Federal, State and local agents concluded the second phase of an OCDETF law enforcement operation code-named "Zorro." This operation targeted a Mexican-run cocaine smuggling and distribution network in the United States and the Colombian cartel with which it worked. Over 40 State and local police agencies, the DEA and the FBI and seven other Federal agencies across the country combined resources and expertise in this cooperative effort. "Zorro II" is a significant narcotics operation because it simultaneously dismantled the organization that owned the cocaine and a second organization that ran the transportation system. It represented the first coordinated multi-district enforcement action taken as part of the Southwest border Initiative.