The State - News from April 5, 1989

Remote coastal areas in Northern California, Oregon and Washington state are becoming popular channels for drug smuggling in the wake of crackdowns on trafficking in Southern California and other states, authorities report. Large amounts of marijuana and cocaine from South America are entering the country by sea and air, and federal customs agents are enlisting North Coast residents and local law enforcement officers to help fight the influx. The coastline from Fort Bragg in Mendocino County to southwestern Oregon is “prime country” for narcotics smugglers, Customs Service Agent Steven T. Jeffrey said in Eureka. Investigators believe that a handful of local fishermen help drug traffickers transport the narcotics by meeting ships at sea, bringing the cargo ashore and storing it. Law enforcement agents believe that they intercept less than 5% of the illegal cargo, Jeffrey said.