Operation "Border Exchange;" Closing the Operational Gap in Drug Law Enforcement

• NCJ Number: 154895
• Journal: Low Intensity Conflict and Law Enforcement Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: (Autumn 1994) Pages: 338-346
• Author(s): V J Cooksey; E H Wagner
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 9 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. DCC

Annotation

This article discusses the interagency planning of Operation Alliance and joint planning and execution of an interagency operation to counter money laundering ("Border Exchange").

Abstract

Operation Alliance, which is headquartered in El Paso, Tex., is designed to facilitate coordination among Southwest Border law enforcement organizations. Operation Alliance implements national drug control policies and develops regional drug control strategies for the Southwest Border region of the United States. Operation Alliance recommended in 1992 that agencies use the joint operational (campaign) planning concept to develop and execute plans on an interagency basis, encompassing the functions of intelligence, investigation, and interdiction. The development of such a plan, dubbed Operation Border Exchange, was coordinated by two agency representatives assigned to Operation Alliance by the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Customs. The borderwide operational plan involves the participation of several Federal, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies. The plan targeted money laundering through money exchange houses on the Southwest border. The Border Exchange plan emphasizes an identification and notification process to ensure voluntary compliance with applicable Federal, State, and local laws, as well as licensing and regulatory statutes. The plan is driven by intelligence that shows some exchange houses are involved in drug money laundering. Once exchange houses are identified, suspect information is developed to show which exchange houses may be involved in laundering drug proceeds. The third phase is the criminal case building effort, in which factual information is developed for prosecutorial and asset forfeiture purposes. The plan, by bringing together a myriad of agencies in a series of synchronized tactical actions, has been effective, not only toward achieving its strategic objectives, but also for providing systematic interagency coordination. 7 notes