Posted on 07/02/2002 4:36:07 PM PDT by Dog Gone
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Authorities in North Carolina have seized $1.4 million worth of narcotics and have convicted more than 80 Marines and sailors of using or distributing designer drugs, officials said Tuesday.
It was one of the biggest drug investigations involving the military in recent years. Although narcotics cases in the military are not rare, they usually involve smaller numbers of people. A recent drug scandal at the Air Force Academy, for example, implicated 38 cadets.
Officials said Tuesday that a two-year investigation, code-named Operation Xterminator, was conducted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service office at Camp Lejeune, N.C., outside of Jacksonville, along with state and local authorities.
The investigation began in February 2000 after Camp Lejeune officials were alerted that a large number of service members were frequenting clubs in Wilmington, N.C., where designer drugs were prevalent, according to a statement released Tuesday by the Camp Lejeune public affairs office.
The drugs involved were ecstasy, cocaine, LSD and methamphetamine, Marine Corps officials said.
The operation included 105 separate investigations and ended June 19.
Officials said more details would be released at a news conference Wednesday at Camp Lejeune.
The investigation led to drug charges against 84 active-duty service members. A Marine Corps official said 99 percent of those charged were convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and two cases are still pending.
Of the 84 charged, 61 were accused of distributing drugs and 23 were accused of using them.
An additional 99 civilians were charged by civilian authorities.
Officials provided no information on the sentences meted out to convicted military members.
Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the maximum punishment for wrongful distribution of drugs is confinement for 15 years, dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. For wrongful use of drugs, the maximum punishment is confinement for five years, dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.
It was not clear Tuesday whether the Marine Corps was planning additional steps to deter use of illicit drugs. Last December, well after Operation Xterminator was under way, the Marine Corps established a random computerized system to standardize urinalysis throughout the service.
Navy regulations require all Marines and sailors to take a urinalysis examination every year.
Marine Corps officials said that while they are concerned by any illicit drug use, the 84 service members charged in the investigation represent only 0.001 percent of the 50,000 to 60,000 Marines and sailors who served in the Camp Lejeune area during the time of the investigation.
One percent of 50,000 is 500- so that one/ one-thousandth of 1% (0.001%) would be 0.5, not 84.
Or, another way, multiply your result by 100 to get "percent"
And if 99% of 84 people were convicted (83.16 people) there couldn't be two cases left over.
That nitpicking aside, I predict an unhappy future for these dealers- is Portsmouth Naval Prison still accepting guests?
EBUCK
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