INTERDICTION OF DRUG TRAFFICKING IN GEORGIA

SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 1980

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SELECT COMMITTEE ON NARCOTICS ABUSE AND CONTROL,

Macon, Ga.

The Select Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:15 a.m., in the Macon City Hall, Hon. Billy L. Evans (acting chairman of the Select Committee) presiding.

Present: Representatives Billy L. Evans, Lawrence Coughlin, and Jack T. Brinkley.

Staff present: Patrick L. Carpentier, chief counsel; Roscoe B. Starek III, minority counsel; and John W. Peploe, chief of security/ investigator.

Mr. EVANS. The hearings will come to order.

Yesterday, we had a number of witnesses which I think has clearly established that the drug problem is growing in the State of Georgia. I think the testimony we had from law enforcement officials was very candid testimony, pointing out the problem areas that we have in cooperation between the various law enforcement agencies in Georgia on the State, local, and Federal levels.

I think that by bringing out the frustrations that local law enforcement, particularly, has in trying to enforce drug laws against a combination of foreign governments and very sophisticated groups of people who have the finances to have very technological superiority to our law enforcement that we will be able to identify those areas that the DEA can help local law enforcement.

I think there is no question from the testimony we have already received that the law enforcement people are ill equipped to deal with the kind of sophisticated groups that we have engaged in drug smuggling in the State of Georgia and in other areas. There is no question that the traffic is increasing in Georgia partially as a result of what has happened in Florida and the emphasis that the committee has placed upon Florida as a port of entry for illicit drugs.

I think the question of amending the posse comitatus statute to utilize the military for surveillance and assistance through communication means to local, State, and Federal law enforcement has been very enlightening. I think this is one means that we can use without increasing the cost to the taxpayers of getting a maximum effort of what we already have in place.

I think it is also clear from the testimony that the fight against the drug problem, as serious as it is, as debilitating as it is to our youth, has not received the proper priority. I think this is a problem that Congress and the citizens of this country will have to continue to face

over the months ahead until we can receive an outcry from the people that something must be done.

Our own local paper has taken the view that the expense is too great to deal with the marihuana problem and, therefore, we should in a sense decriminalize the laws regarding the use of marihuana. In any opinion, in having served on this committee for 2 years, I think this is most unfortunate, and I think the continuing scientific evidence which is coming out from various sources on the question of marihuana indicates that this drug is a very dangerous drug, and the kind of laissez faire attitude that some of our press has and some of our citizens have for lack of sufficient information about the drug is encouraging its more widespread use.

These are the types of issues that Congress must address in trying to improve our efforts and educating our young people so that they can make an intelligent choice.

I am very pleased to have with us this morning Mr. Jay Barrow, who spent a great deal of time looking into the trafficking question in the State of Georgia. I think that the articles he wrote for his paper provide great insight into the length and depth of the drug trafficking problem in Georgia.

He came from Atlanta at great problem to himself this morning. I am especially thankful that you were able to be here, Jay, and if you would come on up, I will ask at this time if Congressman Coughlin from Pennsylvania has any remarks before we take testimony.

Mr. COUGHLIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You certainly very ably summarized the gist of what we discussed yesterday and will continue to discuss today. And I think your leadership on this problem in Georgia is really a very, very important thing.

I also want to welcome my colleague and good friend Jack Brinkley to these hearings. He is a distinguished Member of the House of Representatives and certainly is a great addition to the panel here.

Mr. EVANS. I would like to echo what Congressman Coughlin has said. Of course, Jack Brinkley is from the neighboring district, from Columbus. His district includes two of the counties from which we had sheriffs yesterday, Sheriff Bittick from Monroe County, and Sheriff Talton from Houston County.

Jack Brinkley is the dean of the Georgia delegation. He has shown a great deal of interest in and work in the drug field; although he is not a member of this committee, he came over on a very bad morning, this morning, to be with us. And, Jack, I certainly appreciate your interest, and I appreciate your being at these hearings.

Mr. BRINKLEY. Thank you, Billy. May I say a word?

Mr. EVANS. Certainly.

Mr. BRINKLEY. Before Jay begins, I just wanted to compliment you as well for your leadership. You know it is not easy to go around about the State or the Nation when you have these weekends. And constantly, Members of Congress do just that. And it is something of a bad rap to think that Members such as yourselves are on beds of ease. It is important that this record be built. It is important that you have come and you, Congressman, have come. And we are taking testimony from citizens in our State so that that expertise might be added to the expertise of other Americans to come to grips with the problem and to seek solutions.

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So I salute you, Billy, for your leadership. I wish to welcome Larry Coughlin, our dear colleague in the Congress. I am sorry I missed Les Wolff yesterday. We welcome you to Georgia.

I'm sorry that I could not be here yesterday. I did in Washington participate in contracting out hearings on the Armed Services Committee which we are all interested in as well, affecting Robins and other places.

I want to say one thing, and then I will be through. The Armed Services Committee will be dealing with the statute to which you refer, the posse comitatus statute. I have had occasion to write to the Department of Defense at the instigation of the sheriff of Upson County with reference to the lack of cooperation of military authorities with local law enforcement authorities. And so this is new ground for us to understand that this obstacle is in the way, and we should address correcting it so there can be greater cooperation and finer law enforcement in our land.

Billy, it is a joy to be with you in your district. I compliment you on the job you are doing. And after the DEA presents its testimony, we will be headed back to the great Third District of Georgia. But we are looking forward to a day in which we may listen and learn.

Thank you.

Mr. EVANS. Thank you, Jack.

Mr. Barrow, would you raise your right hand please?

[Mr. Barrow was sworn by Mr. Evans.]

Mr. EVANS. Sir, if you have a statement, which I assume that you do, you may proceed to give it at this time after which we will have some questions.

TESTIMONY OF JAY BARROW, FORMER STAFF WRITER, MACON TELEGRAPH

Mr. BARROW. As you said, during the last year, I spent some time investigating the marihuana smuggling industry in Georgia. The purpose of the articles that I wrote was not to present a case for or against marihuana, but to try to present in lawmen's terms as clear a picture of the smuggling industry in Georgia as possible.

We didn't get into other States; we didn't deal with other drugs. I had a few points that I would like to make in my statement. It sounds as though you probably have heard some of them before, but they might be the basis for some conversation this morning.

Really, over the past several years, Georgia has become a keystone for the marihuana-smuggling industry. And it is an important new industry in our State. It attracts a lot of people with amazingly wide backgrounds. It reaps millions of dollars in profits-the Georgia Crime Commission for this year says it is the biggest cash crime in the State spending a good deal of that money on the corruption of public officials and isn't hampered very much by police forces who for various reasons are unable to stop it.

Seizure figures provided by various agencies show that the marihuana industry has mushroomed really since about 1975. In that part of the decade, authorities stumbled across a few thousand pounds of marihuana. They are more actively looking for the smugglers now

and will probably get several hundred tons next year. They say that that will be about 10 percent of what flows through Georgia. Other people say that that is an inflated figure.

The people who work in this industry come from a variety of backgrounds. People implicated in smuggling plots include many of the longtime criminal figures we have been familiar with-people like the Lewis Crumps and the Lee Gilstraps of north Georgia, J. C. Hawkinses to a lesser extent of this area. Others have no felony record at all; they are pilots and technicians, people like a man named Don Jones, a former Army pilot from Kentucky.

Of course, money is the thing that attracts these people. There is plenty of it. An airplane pilot can easily pick up $10,000 for a roundtrip flight, and that is what Don Jones said he got. A man who owns the dock in southeast Georgia can get more for being gone at the right time. A teenager, interestingly, can pick up about $1,000 for a couple hours of unloading. At least, that is the promise that these people get. Frequently, we have found that they don't collect. At the higher end of the scale, a man who puts a smuggling deal together or finances it might split $1 million. He usually does collect.

Marihuana is coming into every part of the State. It is not a problem for local authorities in one portion of Georgia. Airplanes fly into the north, middle, and southern parts of the State. Boats unload along the coast. Trucks go through the State. This is because Georgia is geographically suited for the marihuana smuggling industry. There are hundreds of inlets along our coast and even more places inland where an airplane can land.

The expressways that run through the State can take you to Boston or Detroit or Chicago or New York or Charlotte or any number of States to the north where there is a good market.

And the smugglers are anxious to keep Georgia a good place for their business. They will spend freely. Already, there is evidence that law enforcement agencies in some parts of the State have been corrupted by marihuana smugglers. In one coastal county last year, smugglers had so little fear of being apprehended that they unloaded a shrimp boat full of marihuana on a public dock in plain view of a major highway, less than a quarter mile from the sheriff's office, while a trusted member of that office stood lookout.

Up the coast, marihuana has repeatedly been unloaded at a public dock not 100 yards away from many houses-and even the local post office.

In another part of the State, smugglers have bragged that they bribed a county sheriff into helping with their smuggling activities. According to one story, the sheriff was even going to provide jail prisoners to help with the unloading. But mainly, the smugglers don't have to bribe local officials.

In many areas, police and sheriff's departments aren't equipped to stop the drug trafficking. In Echols County, for instance, which borders Florida, a sheriff and a part-time deputy must patrol many square miles of flat, deserted wilderness. Most of the land in that county would be suitable for an airplane landing. The wide State highways could even be used for a runway and probably have been.