Columnit Jeff German: Teamwork bad news for drug traffickers

Friday, Dec. 10, 2004 | 5:36 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

WEEKEND EDITION

December 11 - 12, 2004

At first glance the tattered Winn Dee Bar in North Las Vegas looked like any neighborhood hole in the wall to law enforcement authorities.

It was a daily gathering place, always crowded, for those who lived in the surrounding Hispanic community.

But in the summer of 2003 authorities soon learned that this was not a typical neighborhood tavern.

They were selling more than drinks at the Winn Dee Bar. They were selling drugs, lots of drugs.

Undercover operatives started making small buys at the local hangout not knowing exactly where it all would lead them. By this summer, however, authorities ended up making the largest methamphetamine seizure in Nevada history. They confiscated 61 pounds of "ice," a stimulant in its purest form, valued at $5 million to 7 million on the street.

"Operation Ice House" ran as smoothly as any multi-agency probe you'll ever see. Playing leading roles were the FBI, North Las Vegas Police and Metro Police.

In all 20 people were indicted -- including those who were importing the high-grade methamphetamine from Mexico and selling it to the suppliers of the small-time drug dealers at the Winn Dee Bar.

The investigation's success is the result of a drug-fighting strategy that seeks to overcome the Achilles heel of law enforcement -- its traditional lack of cooperation and sharing of intelligence.

It may never be possible to get all law enforcement agencies on the same page all of the time, but the federally funded High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program is coming close.

HIDTA, which concentrates resources in known drug trafficking hot spots around the country, was established by Congress in 1988, but we're just starting to learn about it here. There are 26 HIDTA task forces in the nation, all under the watchful eye of the Office of National Drug Policy Control in Washington.

Nevada, however, didn't get it's HIDTA designation until 2001.

More than 100 law enforcement officers from 13 federal, state and local agencies participate in the program, which is broken down into nine specialized task forces.

One targets methamphetamine distribution, another goes after major drug organizations (such as the group targeted in Operation Ice House) and still another pursues gang drug trafficking. Other task forces specialize in cracking down on drug sales at local nightclubs, the transportation of narcotics on the highways and the laundering of drug proceeds.

The most important task force, however, is the one that oversees the sharing of intelligence. This is the group that keeps everyone from stepping on each others' toes and duplicating investigative efforts.

Local HIDTA members are gushing over the improvement they say the HIDTA concept has brought to local drug-fighting efforts, making anyone with a brain wonder why the concept took so long to get here.

"This is the best cooperation I've ever seen," says ex-cop Mike Hawkins, executive director of the Nevada HIDTA. "It's bringing all of the agencies together."

But there's a downside.

Nevada is the lowest funded HIDTA organization in the country, receiving $1.4 million a year from Washington. It's barely enough to make a dent in the growing methamphetamine and club drug market.

Operation Ice House, I'm told, was just the tip of the iceberg.

"The only problem the drug dealers have here is getting enough drugs," says one experienced HIDTA member. "The demand is very high."

The Las Vegas area, HIDTA members say, has become a major distribution point for Mexican methamphetamine drug lords. The drug is made in "super labs" in Mexico and smuggled into Las Vegas through California and Arizona, eventually making its way to local bars like the Winn Dee.

The city's transient nature, 24-hour lifestyle and exploding nightclub scene all have contributed to the drug's popularity.

Local lawmen have the desire -- and finally the right strategy -- to gain the upper hand on the traffickers.

All they need now is sufficient financial backing from Washington.