Published on Friday, February 9, 2007
in the WFTV News

Special Unit Targets Contraband On Florida's Highways

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- Florida state troopers seized more than $4 million dollars worth of drugs and cash on state highways in 2006.

And drug runners go to great lengths as they attempt to hide their contraband.

Interdiction troopers are specially trained to find drugs in places no one would suspect. When they make a traffic stop, they're looking for the thing that just doesn't fit.

"They have no luggage, no clear idea where they're going and you start to look deeper," said Lt. Thomas Moore of the Highway Patrol.

They look for secret compartments inside bumpers, working car engines, even boxes of laundry detergent or stuffed animas.

"People spend a great deal of time devising ways to hide their dope," said Moore.

In 2006 alone, troopers seized $1.6 million worth of cocaine on state highways. They also seized nearly $1.5 million in marijuana and $1.3 million in cash.

"In the Southeast you got it going to New York, from New York, to Atlanta, from Atlanta, from the southwest border. You got it coming from the Caribbean. Here in Florida, we have it going and coming," said Moore.

The searches do raise questions about civil rights. At a traffic stop along I-4, where an interdiction team member was concerned enough to let his dog sniff around, the driver eventually moved on without incident. But other drivers we spoke with didn't have a problem with the searches.

"I don't think they are infringing on people's rights. They'll pull you over, they're not there to hassle you. They're there to help you," said William Slattum.

And quite frankly, the stops work.

Even a small bust can lead to a much bigger one. One led to the discovery of a grow house full of drugs.

Recently, some members of the contraband interdiction unit have begun terrorist training.

Lt. Moore says that's because many of the methods used to smuggle drugs and weapons are the very same ones a terrorist might try to use on the highways.