Dea Pledges Better Effort To Stop Drugs

There’s a new federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent in town, and he’s pledging the agency’s manpower and expertise to battle drug traffickers in Eastern Washington and North Idaho.

Mark Thomas came to Spokane in July as the DEA’s resident agent in charge of anti-drug operations in the region.

Thomas, who replaced the retiring William Hardin, said he aims to improve communication between the DEA and local law enforcement, and increase the number of joint investigations.

Spokane authorities applaud those efforts.

“If you have two or three different agencies doing individual investigations … you might miss the bigger case that might have a bigger impact,” said Lt. Chan Bailey of the Spokane Regional Drug Task Force.

Thomas, 41, spent the past 12 years with the DEA in drug-infested Miami and Detroit. He’s participated in about 2,500 drug raids, he said.

His career began as a military policeman, and he once drove a patrol car as a city cop. He graduated from the FBI Academy and is a DEA firearms and weapons instructor.

“My roots are grounded in state and local law enforcement,” he said this week. “I rely heavily on state and local officials, the investigations they initiate and are working on. They are the backbone.”

Cooperation from law enforcement agencies is crucial in narcotics work, Thomas said. Without it, drug runners dealing in high profits and low profiles can come in and undermine a community.

“Narcotics work is very fast-paced. What’s here today could be gone tomorrow,” he said.

“If you don’t have the cooperation it leaves a large avenue for them to work in. You can’t just apply your resources at one level.”

, DataTimes