By Jacqueline Koch
Chattanooga Times Free Press
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Despite cooperating witnesses and telephone wiretaps, law enforcement officials say the best way for them to apprehend cocaine users and traffickers is to get on the streets themselves.
And the more policing agencies and individuals involved, the better.
“The best intelligence is the eye,” said Lt. Van Hinton, commander of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office narcotics division. “The more we’re out there, the more we can determine what the culture of the organization is.”
Local, state and federal law enforcement officials always have cooperated on major cocaine operations, but they recently stepped up their partnerships to crack down on traffickers and users.
Cocaine ring busts in the county -- including that of 42 people in May -- have led authorities to develop more leads in the war on cocaine, a never-ending battle, Lt. Hinton said.
“It’s always been the quote, if you shoot down one organization, two come up,” he said. “Cocaine is a billion-dollar industry and so, with that being said, there’s always somebody looking for an opportunity to make money.”
A DISTRIBUTION HUB
Cocaine comes into Hamilton County from Florida, Illinois, Georgia and California, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. The county is known as a distribution hub largely because of its location near major interstates. Because cocaine crosses state and county lines, involving multiple jurisdictions makes prosecution of traffickers easier, authorities say.
Cocaine abusers have started consuming crack cocaine (made into rocks by a cocaine conversion process) instead of powdered cocaine, allowing crack to become the most popular drug among Tennessee residents, according to the DEA.
Even after significant stings, cocaine remains available in the area, said Ben Scott, resident agent in charge of the DEA’s Chattanooga office. But drawing intelligence from a variety of agencies pushes investigations further faster, he said.
“We’re not wasting time with everybody doing individual investigations,” he said. “There is still cocaine availability, and we’re always working investigations.”
FEDERAL, STATE ROLES
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives gets involved in drug investigations only if weapons are involved, said Darryl Hill, special agent in charge of the ATF’s Chattanooga office.
But when it does, agents are more than happy to share and receive intelligence, he said.
“We especially enjoy the camaraderie,” Hill said. “We accomplish a lot more because the local entities know a heck of a lot more about what’s going on the streets than we do. It involves all of us to take forward our cases for federal prosecution.”
Cooperation also is important so agencies don’t create multiple cases against the same suspect, said William Benson, assistant director with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation who supervises the drug investigation division.
“A lot of times we’re looking at the same person,” he said, referring to local, state and federal agencies. “There are potential hazards if we’re out there following the same people.”
Copyright 2008 Chattanooga Times Free Press