MS Bureau of Narcotics: Undercover work, danger and more

In 2016, an agency known to many Mississippians by name only was thrust into the spotlight when one of itstheir veteran agents was killed in the line of duty.

The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics has, since its inception in 1971, been happy to fly below the radar. Its Their agents must maintain a considerable degree of anonymity because of the amount of undercover work they do., so enlisting in the war on drugs means there won't be a lot of publicity. 

On Feb.ruary 20, Agent Lee Tartt was Mississippi's first and, to date, only line-of-duty death of 2016, and MBN's first in over a decade. Three Mississippi Highway Patrol troopers were injured in the same episodeevent, bringing the SWAT team comprised of both agencies into the public eye. The state prayed for their healing and grieved the loss of the man known to his community as one of the most giving and compassionate men many people knew. 

The war on drugs

For the last 45 years, the agency that began with 12 sworn agents and now has 115 has done more than most people know, officials said. Though most of the work it does they do doesn't make the headlines, it is they are fighting an off-the-record war with the drug culture. 

MBN Director John Dowdy said in the last year, 11 drug trafficking organizations were dismantled or severely disabled by investigations done by the bureau. 

"You talk about dismantling and substantially disrupting a trafficking organization, generally what you're talking about is the head guy in Mississippi who is receiving the drugs, and all the people distributing the drugs on his behalf," Dowdy said. "When we're looking at the DTOs... 99% of the time when we dismantle the DTO it includes the source of supply within the U.S." 

As of September, 2,463 narcotics cases had have come across the desks of MBN agents, and in 2015 there were 2,529. Agents arrested 3,249 suspects last year, which resulted in 4,398 charges, Dowdy said, adding that the agency is on track to meet last year's numbers.  Some of those operations have involved high-risk warrants and SWAT action.

"Those guys thrust themselves into situations where they know they could encounter death and they take that on their shoulders, they bear the brunt of it," said MBN Deputy Director Steven Maxwell. "When you put yourself in that position, you're turning it up a notch and taking it to another level, and you know that you're going into a situation and you're potentially going to have to use and encounter deadly force."

Task forces, initiatives

Every day can be deadly for a drug agent. MBN currently has at least one agent dedicated to each of the federal task forces in the state, compounding theirits resources on multiple levels. There are also several agents currently dedicated to working pharmaceutical diversion cases in which people are doctor shopping or prescriptions are being forged. MBN also works with the Board of Pharmacy's investigative unit on pharmacy burglary cases. 

A few years ago, the task force worked a case Dowdy called the "Trash Bag Gang" who hit pharmacies in 10 cities and stole 101,892 dosage units of scheduled narcotics totaling $226,792. The street value of those drugs was $764,190.

Another group that sees a lot of action within the MBN is the Domestic Cannabis Eradication and Suppression Program, and in the late spring and early summer those agents do a substantial amount of their investigation from the air. 

"They fly a good bit, and it's amazing how good these guys are," Dowdy said. "They can be flying over a piece of property and see marijuana plants and they jutst know it. They've been trained and gotten accustomed to that kind of stuff."

MBN is also the only state agency that heads up a HIDTA — or High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area — task force in its region. There are HIDTAs all over the country, Dowdy said, and the Gulf Coast HIDTA encompasses Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas and part of western Tennessee. 

"For the MBN to be able to run its own when every other one is led by a federal agency — I think speaks a lot to what we're doing here," Dowdy said.

The agency also focuses on eliminating drugs in schools from elementary through college. 

"No parent sends their kid to school with hopes of them becoming drug addicted," Maxwell said. 

Technology in the drug trade

Much of what MBN has done over the years is adapting to technological and scientific advances not only in communication but in the drug trade. Maxwell said 20 years ago, synthetic marijuana or "spice" didn't exist, but scientific advances by the drug manufacturers led to adaptation by drug agents. 

And that adaptation leads to further adaptation, and it becomes a race.

"The drug culture was such that you had individuals overtly selling drugs, standing on a street corner, at a park, or at a specific location that could be seen by the natural eye. As science and technology became more layered into the drug trade and prosecution of those overt individuals became more successful, they became more clandestine in their distribution methods," Maxwell said. "So as far as using technology, as they did, we did too. As they adapt, we adapt. As they evolve, we evolve, but we seek to evolve at a level higher than they evolve." 

Because of the nature of the job, Dowdy said, agents receive little public recognition. But so much of the business is clandestine, and because of that the men and women brought into the bureau must be willing to never receive public acclaim for their work. 

"I can't even tell you all the things, but obviously we can't put agents' names and faces out there because so much of what we do is undercover," Dowdy said. "We're working very closely with all of our partners just trying to make a difference in our state."

Looking ahead

As the agency's 45th year winds to a close, Dowdy said he hopes to continue to provide the same protection and service to Mississippi that his agents have done through the years. And now they have another legacy to honor.

"We give out an Agent of the Year Award that's voted on by the command staff, and this year we have renamed it the Lee Tartt Agent of the Year Award," Dowdy said. "With Lee, they will tell you there was not another agent that they equated as being as hard working and dedicated, as professional, the highest level of integrity, just a phenomenal commitment to doing the job he did. As much as it pains the agency to have lost him, it's one of those stories where we also look back and say, 'You know what, I'm glad I had the privilege to work with that guy.'"

Contact Therese Apel at tapel@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.