Soldiers wage war on drugs

When Charleston County investigators intercepted a marijuana-stuffed package mailed to a Hollywood home last May, they decided to let the shipment through and then nab the dealers who retrieved it.

The home, however, sat on a main road where deputies easily would be spotted lying in wait. Woods blocked the approach from other angles. How could they watch the weed without tipping off their quarry?

Deputies found an edge in a National Guardsman with training in clandestine surveillance. Outfitted with military goggles, a heat-sensing camera and other high-tech tools, the soldier watched from the woods for more than three hours until two men showed up and grabbed the five-pound package. A quick call alerted deputies, who arrested the pair.

"If he wasn't there, they could have easily gotten in there and grabbed those drugs without us ever knowing about it," Sheriff's Lt. Mike Conkey of the metro narcotics unit said.

The soldier, who has been assigned to the sheriff's office for a year, is part of a little-publicized program that employs South Carolina National Guardsmen to battle the drug trade. For two decades, the Guard has helped law enforcement wipe out marijuana fields, uncover shipments of narcotics and gather information on drug runners.

The state National Guard is poised to expand its role in the drug war to encompass the battle against terrorism as well. Members of the state's Congressional delegation have asked U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to back the creation of a specialized unit to target major drug traffickers and the terrorist networks that might feed off the illicit profits.

Supporters see the program as a natural extension of the Guard's mission, a way to leverage a vast network of military resources and personnel to help combat the growing threats posed by gangs and other criminal organizations with cross-border ties.

But others are wary of adding another high-level player to an already crowded field of federal, state and local agencies trying to work together to tackle drugs, gangs, money-laundering and potential terrorist threats.

Some, like Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen, question whether seed money for the new Guard program — estimated to be in the millions of dollars — would be better spent on the various agencies already working on the threats.

"I'm not opposed to working with the military or the National Guard or anyone who can help," Mullen said. "It just seems to me this is a duplication of efforts when we should be focusing on how we can help the organizations that are already in place."

Tim James, assistant director of the State Law Enforcement Division, said he expects such concerns will dwindle as people learn more about the proposed Guard program and the benefits it can provide. "These are visionaries who are putting this program together," he said. "It's going to be a great resource."

Drafted to the drug war

Congress authorized the National Guard to take on anti-drug missions in 1989. While the Guard's counter-drug units receive federal defense dollars, they are under the authority of state governors. They are not restricted by posse comitatus, the federal act designed to remove the military from domestic law enforcement.

Today, more than 2,500 soldiers in National Guard units around the country are involved in counter-drug activities. The Pentagon's 2009 budget includes about $208 million to fund these programs, which federal officials credit with keeping $35 billion in illegal drugs off the street last year.

The Guard's South Carolina counter-drug unit has played a role in a number of high-profile drug investigations, including the 1999 seizure of 1,000 pounds of cocaine from a ship that sailed into Charleston.

In 2006, the Guard also helped Berkeley County sheriff's deputies locate a field of 1,000 marijuana plants in the Francis Marion National Forest. Last year, the unit helped seize more than 31,000 marijuana plants, about 35,000 pounds of processed marijuana and 3.4 pounds of heroin.

The unit has an annual budget of about $2 million and 40 full-time employees who provide assistance to federal, state and local law enforcement. In addition to manpower and intelligence capabilities, the unit offers helicopters, airplanes and high-tech surveillance equipment that many local police agencies don't have or can't afford. Its four helicopters, for instance, have infrared thermal imaging, global positioning satellite technology, night vision and an ion scanner that detects traces of drug residue.

Conkey, the Charleston County Sheriff's lieutenant, recalled one incident in which a Guardsman in an airplane used a laser-equipped device to track a suspect in a car 10,000 feet below. The suspect never knew he was being followed, he said.

Lexington County Sheriff James Metts said a National Guardsman assigned to his department for three years has helped deputies chop down marijuana fields and access federal databases for key information. In one recent case, the Guardsman compiled a list of possible suspects by tracing a partial telephone number deputies had recovered.

"It's been very beneficial for us," Metts said. "The information you can get from them, you wouldn't believe."

A diverse mission

Lt. Col. Migdalia Agosto coordinates the state National Guard's counter-drug unit, which screens soldiers for the assignment, often looking for those with Army backgrounds in the infantry and military police. The unit also has a number of soldiers with law enforcement experience. Among other things, the soldiers receive training in gang and drug identification.

Its missions are as diverse as teaching school children about the dangers of drugs to aerial surveillance of partygoers at the annual Myrtle Beach rallies. Much of the unit's work on drug cases involves behind the scenes intelligence gathering. "We leave it up to SLED to kick in the doors," Agosto said.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said a Guardsman assigned to his department since 2004 provided key intelligence and analysis in gang and drug investigations, including one case that resulted in 40 arrests.

"They have access to federal information that we might not have," Lott said. "In large-scale drug cases, they can link all the players together, which is very valuable."

Still, North Charleston Police Chief Jon Zumalt said he is uncomfortable with the National Guard assuming such a prominent role in domestic crime-fighting. He thinks the money would be better spent in grants to SLED or local governments, which could then hire police officers to tackle gang and drug issues. He is concerned that giving the Guard a greater role in gang and drug investigations simply will add another layer of bureaucracy for police to contend with. "It's just further watering down the tea," Zumalt said.

Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon, however, said the time has come for law enforcement and the military to get past an age-old reluctance to work as partners. Threats from gangs and terrorist groups are many and span borders, stretching from local street corners to foreign lands. That demands a new response, he said.

"I think this is part of an evolution that is necessary for us to confront some of the challenges we face," he said.