Drug Arrests by L.A. Undercover Agents at High Schools Decline

An undercover narcotics operation at seven Los Angeles high schools this spring netted more than $4.5 million in illegal drugs--a record--because of the discovery of a major methamphetamine lab, police said Tuesday.

At the same time, however, the 119 arrests resulting from the latest semiannual investigation represent a two-year low, affirming officers’ contention that drug use among high school students is on the wane.

“We believe it’s getting better,” Capt. James McMurray of the department’s Juvenile Division said at a news conference at police headquarters.

McMurray said fewer high school students seem to be experimenting with drugs, although a layer of hard-core users remains. The vast majority of arrests this spring involved marijuana, he said.

Police have been posing as high school students for the last 18 years to gain access to campus dealers. During the spring semester, from Feb. 17 through June 5, seven undercover officers were deployed at North Hollywood, Jordon, Birmingham, Hamilton, Grant, Locke and Cleveland high schools.

Arrests this spring were down considerably from the last two years: There were 142 arrests in spring, 1990; 162 in fall, 1990; 130 in spring, 1991, and 147 in fall, 1991. In the first years of the program, police averaged about 300 arrests each semester.

But Lt. Bud Harper cautioned that arrests fluctuate because the number of campuses and the skills of the undercover officers--generally youthful-looking rookies--vary from semester to semester.

Harper said he believes alcohol has become the most popular drug among high school students, a finding echoed in a state report released Monday. The biennial survey of junior high and high school students found that cocaine and amphetamine use was down but that alcohol use--and drinking and driving--had increased.

The discovery of the methamphetamine lab in Northridge this semester “was just a real stroke of luck” that boosted the normally modest value of drugs seized on high school campuses to $4,542,850.50, said Detective Everett Berry, who oversees the program.

The fully equipped lab was found when a 17-year-old Birmingham High School student led an undercover officer to the garage of a house in the 9600 block of White Oak Avenue, where a buy was made.

When police returned with a search warrant May 22, they arrested three men and seized more than 13 gallons of methamphetamine liquid and crystals, whose estimated street value was placed at $4.5 million, Berry said.

The men remain in custody in lieu of $2 million bail each, Berry said. They were among 34 adults arrested as a result of information gleaned from high school students during the semester.

“That drug lab may never have been found if not for the school drug program,” Harper said. “And some of these dealers may never have been found because they’re dealing just to high school kids.”