Brazil creates anti-drug task force

CNN March 23, 1999 Brazil creates anti-drug task force

                  BRASILIA, Brazil (Reuters) -- Brazilian President Fernando Henrique
                  Cardoso said Tuesday he was creating a new task force to fight drug
                  trafficking and organized crime.

                  "Robberies, kidnappings and atrocities which have become routine in the
                  world of drug traffickers, and which constantly shock us, will be fought with
                  advanced techniques and without tolerance," Cardoso said in a weekly radio
                  address.

The 500-strong task force will be coordinated by Walter Maierovitch, head
of the National Anti-Drugs Secretariat.

                  Cardoso noted the government had scrapped legal loopholes which were
                  benefiting drug traffickers and had implemented a new law which allows it to
                  rapidly auction seized assets.

                  "We are convinced that it is not enough to apprehend assets held by
                  traffickers. These goods must be sold quickly so that the proceeds of the
                  sale can be used to reinforce the fight against other crimes," said Cardoso.

Brazil plans to join forces with other nations by swapping information about
drug gangs and other crimes, he said.

                  Large amounts of cocaine produced in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia pass
                  through Brazil on their way to Europe and the United States. Brazil is also a
                  producer of marijuana, grown in the country's arid Northeast.