Local : Gates Charges Border Leaks Like a Sieve for Heavy Flow of Cocaine

A southern border leaking like a sieve allowed a record 20 tons of cocaine into Southern California and also threatens national security, Police Chief Daryl F. Gates told the City Council today.

Gates, discussing the Police Department’s role in last week’s record seizure of cocaine, said the nation’s borders must be secured before such shipments can be halted.

“If you have been to the border and seen what has been going on there it is a disgrace, a national disgrace,” Gates said.

Gates and Councilman Hal Bernson urged the use of the armed forces to seal the border and cut off the flow of illicit drugs into the United States.

“It’s been my belief for a long time that the armed forces have to be involved,” Gates said.

The chief also reviewed how the Police Department came to be involved in the case in which 20 tons of cocaine and $12.4 million in cash were confiscated from a Sylmar warehouse late last week.

Police worked with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and members of a narcotics task force representing several smaller Southern California cities in tracking the shipments to the warehouse, Gates said.