ONDCP Seal
 PolicyPolicy
IV. Agency Budget Summaries

CRIMINAL DIVISION


  1. RESOURCE SUMMARY

  2. METHODOLOGY

    • The Criminal Division's drug budget figures are derived by estimating the level of involvement of each component in drug-related activities. Within each of the drug-related decision units, each component is required to estimate the percentage of work/time that is spent addressing drug-related issues in relation to the goals and objectives of the National Drug Control Strategy. This percentage is then applied against each component's overall resources to develop an estimate of those resources dedicated to counternarcotics activities.

  3. PROGRAM SUMMARY

    • The Criminal Division programs support Goal 5, "Break foreign and domestic drug sources of supply" of the National Drug Control Strategy. The following are some of the Criminal Division's key drug-related components:

    • Organized Crime and Racketeering Section (OCRS) efforts go towards destroying the major trafficking organizations by convicting and incarcerating their leaders. OCRS resources are used to ensure that indictments are properly secured, that organized crime cases are prosecuted, and that overall organized crime prosecution policies are developed and implemented.

    • The Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS) develops innovative investigative and prosecutorial methods, enhancing the effectiveness of federal, state, and local law enforcement task forces. The Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section is intimately involved with efforts towards prosecuting the organizations and individuals behind drug production and trafficking, both domestically and abroad.

    • The Office of International Affairs (OIA) promotes interdiction efforts through bilateral and multi-lateral agreements. These agreements lay the groundwork for enhanced intelligence sharing, and cooperation towards interdiction strategies. OIA helps identify and cement relations with those countries who have the political will to stop traffickers from using their national territories to produce or transport narcotics.

    • The Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section (AFMLS) provides legal advice and assistance in the conduct of civil and criminal forfeiture litigation and the development of policies which incorporate asset forfeiture into an overall law enforcement program.

  4. BUDGET SUMMARY

    1998 Program

    • FY 1998 drug-related resources total $27.7 million and 227 FTEs. These resources are used for prosecution and international support activities, which support Goal 5 of the National Drug Control Strategy.

    • In addition, the Criminal Division anticipates receiving $0.7 million in reimbursable funding for its OCDETF activities.

    1999 Request

    • The FY 1999 drug control budget request is $29.5 million and 233 FTEs. This represents an increase of $1.8 million and 6 FTEs over the FY 1998 enacted level. Included in the $1.8 million increase is $0.5 million for program enhancements involving transnational narcotic matters. Program enhancements include:

      • expand counterdrug activities in the Caribbean Basin,

      • continue development, and begin coordination of the Department's Heroin Strategy,

      • enhance bilateral cooperation between the US and Mexico, and

      • improve counterdrug coordination among intelligence and law enforcement communities.

    • In addition, the Criminal Division anticipates receiving $0.8 million in reimbursable funding for its OCDETF activities.

  5. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

    • During the past year, NDDS trial attorneys prosecuted Southwest Border cases involving more than 68,124 kilograms of cocaine, 26,281 kilograms of marijuana, 556 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 21 kilograms of heroin; and prosecuted cases in Puerto Rico involving a total of more than 17,233 kilograms of cocaine, 7,817 kilograms of marijuana, and 201 kilograms of heroin. In FY 1997, the Section obtained 53 indictments and 37 convictions in OCDETF cases. In addition, the Section provided litigation support to US Attorneys through 265 Title III wiretap application responses; 35 witness security request responses; 32 S-Visa application responses; and 47 sensitive or classified application responses.

    • NDDS attorneys, in concert with the Judicial Attache at the US Embassy in Bogota, worked with counterparts in Colombia and Mexico in the investigation and prosecution of major narcotics offenders and money launderers, and in the disruption of the Cali Cartel's investment of narcotics trafficking proceeds in legitimate and front companies outside the US. In Colombia, NDDS has worked with the Department of the Treasury to identify 282 companies and frontpersons that are owned or controlled by, or act on behalf of, the leaders of the Cali Cartel, and imposed sanctions on them pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50 U.S.C. Sections 1701-1706. IEEPA sanctions have closed bank accounts, disrupted wholesale supply networks, and caused the isolation of Cartel-owned or controlled companies in international financial systems.

    • NDDS attorneys also conducted a variety of training, provided assistance in drafting counter- narcotics legislation, and distributed instructional manuals to foreign countries to promote effective law enforcement and conformity to international standards.

    • In FY 1997, the Office of International Affairs' negotiated new extradition treaties with Antigua, Argentina, Dominica, Hong Kong, and Luxembourg were signed, and extradition treaties with Belgium, Bolivia, Hungary, Switzerland, and the Philippines entered into force. Also, in FY 1997 new Mutual Legal Assistance treaties (MLATs) were signed with Antigua, Australia, Dominica and Hong Kong, and the MLAT treaties with the Philippines and the UK entered into force.

    • In FY 1997, the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section (AFMLS) assisted foreign nations (Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, and Colombia) by making recommendations on proposed forfeiture laws, culminating in Colombia's enactment of effective legislation to combat the enormous wealth of drug cartel leaders. AFMLS joined Mexico and Switzerland to pursue a potential $100 million in forfeiture case; sought the sale of French real estate valued at several million dollars that had been forfeited from an international drug trafficker; and the return by Liechtenstein of $17 million, the first time ever that country assisted in returning assets.