DEA to Get Submachine Guns for War Against Drug Dealers

Federal agents fighting America’s war against drugs got a hefty boost of firepower Wednesday with the announcement here that they will be issued semiautomatic submachine guns.

Each of South Florida’s 341 Drug Enforcement Administration agents will be issued a 9-millimeter Colt semiautomatic submachine gun that will fire three bursts every time an agent pulls the trigger, officials said.

The increased firepower was welcome news for DEA agents who until now had to go into battle carrying shotguns and six-shot, .38-caliber handguns against drug dealers firing 50 and 100 rounds a pop from fully automatic Uzi and Mac-10 machine guns.

DEA spokesman Jack Hook called it parity.

‘A Sense of Confidence’

“It gives you a sense of confidence we never had in Miami in the last 10 years with the .38 revolver. Anybody who levels a gun at a DEA agent now is going to have some problems,” said Hook.

All 3,000 DEA agents will be issued submachine guns as quickly as possible, officials said, but South Florida was chosen to be first because it is a mecca for drug dealers.

From October to January, the DEA seized 31 machine guns nationally. Of those, 11 were seized in South Florida.

The Colt SMG weighs 5.75 pounds and is nearly 29 inches long. DEA’s version is modified to carry a clip of 32 rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition.

Automatics Spray Wildly

The DEA is not using fully automatic guns because of concerns about the safety of bystanders, Hook said. Automatic guns tend to spray wildly and have muzzles that are difficult to control, he said.

The DEA is the first federal agency to routinely issue submachine guns. Customs and FBI still carry .38-caliber and .357-caliber weapons.

As of Wednesday, all DEA agents were also issued 15-shot 9-millimeter automatic sidearms as their primary, personal weapons. The submachine gun is considered secondary firepower.

The price of the guns was not disclosed. Hook said that is a government secret.