Meese Sees More Joint Drug Raids : Eradication Actions Like Sweep in Bolivia Discussed, He Says

Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III said today that the United States is discussing with other countries the possibility of conducting joint drug eradication ventures similar to the operation now under way in Bolivia.

Meese, meeting with reporters to discuss Administration efforts to stop drug trafficking internationally and within U.S. borders, was asked whether the much-publicized Operation Blast Furnace operation, targeting clandestine cocaine laboratories in the jungles of Bolivia, was a one-of-a-kind campaign that would not be repeated.

“I would hope that we would have similar types of operations tailored to the situation and the needs of other countries,” said Meese, adding, “We are looking at plans in a number of countries.” He said discussions are going on and declined to identify the countries.

Meeting With Ambassadors

In other developments today:

--President Reagan said he and his wife, Nancy, will meet Oct. 6-7 here with a group of U.S. ambassadors, to “discuss how we can mobilize an international commitment to win the war against illegal drug use.”

Reagan said the meeting will be attended by “our ambassadors (to) those countries which face major drug production, consumption, and transportation problems.” He discussed his plans in a speech to the National Fraternal Congress, an organization of groups engaged in volunteer work.

--The Justice Department defended Reagan’s drug-testing plan for federal employees at a congressional hearing at which the President was accused of “trashing the Constitution through trendy gimmicks.”

Assistant Atty. Gen. Richard K. Willard said Reagan’s sweeping executive order, issued last week, contains adequate safeguards to protect federal workers against violations of their Fourth Amendment guarantees against unreasonable government searches and seizures.

Union’s Lawsuit

The National Treasury Employees Union has filed a lawsuit seeking to block implementation of the plan, which would affect more than a million federal workers in “sensitive” jobs, such as public safety employees and people with top-rated security clearances.

Post office and civil service subcommittee Chairman Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) charged, however, that the Administration is trying to capitalize “on a national hysteria” about drug abuse and “requiring everybody in society to give up their rights.”

Ackerman said he is “seriously troubled” by the Administration’s attitude that Americans must “go out and prove that we’re innocent” by taking tests.

“We’re shifting the burden of proof,” he said.

Totally Disrupted--Meese

In the joint U.S.-Bolivian eradication program which goes under the code name “Blast Furnace,” half a dozen American military helicopters and 160 U.S. military personnel who operate and maintain the craft have assisted Bolivian troops in destroying cocaine labs. Meese said the campaign has totally disrupted the illegal cocaine industry in Bolivia.