Conrad Unveils New Report on Drug Trafficking

Conrad Unveils New Report on Drug Trafficking

Senator Leads the Fight Against Meth and Other Illegal Drugs

Senator Kent Conrad today unveiled a report on the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program, which in 2004 seized $10.5 billion in illegal drugs and dismantled 4,500 meth labs nationally.

"As much as 95 percent of North Dakota's meth is trafficked from out of state. HIDTA's success in bringing down large-scale drug trafficking rings is crucial to the fight against meth abuse," Senator Conrad said.

Senator Conrad has ensured that North Dakota receives vital funding from the HIDTA Program, which coordinates federal, state and local law enforcement to dismantle drug trafficking organizations. The Senator's amendment to the Treasury-Postal appropriations bill in 1998 made North Dakota eligible for the HIDTA Program. As a result, the state has received more than $4 million in HIDTA funding since 2000.

This funding has allowed the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation to pay for three agents, one federal prosecutor and two forensic scientists in the state. The funding has also been used to pay for operating expenses for task forces in Bismarck and Grand Forks.

Senator Conrad, co-founder of the Senate Anti-Meth Caucus, a bi-partisan group of Senators dedicated to stopping the spread of meth, helped prevent a 57 percent cut in the HIDTA program in the President's budget proposal last year.

"I am opposed to cutting this funding, as I have opposed each of this Administration's past attempts to cut funds devoted to fighting meth-related drug crimes," Senator Conrad said.

Senator Conrad was joined by a bipartisan group of Senators and Congressmen at today's press conference including: Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH), Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO), Congressman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), and Congressman Mark Souder (R-Ind.).

http://conrad.senate.gov/~conrad/releases/06/02/2006215A44.html