Customs, DEA, FBI Split Over Protection of Accused Informant

LAW ENFORCEMENT February 1993

The three federal agencies primarily charged with stemming drug trafficking are reportedly at odds over whether or not a confidential informant accused of drug trafficking should be protected (AP, "U.S. Agencies Reportedly Split Over Fate of Informant Accused of Drug Trafficking," The Dallas Morning News, 1/16/93, 42A).

Informant Martin C. Lozano has apparently provided valuable information to U.S. Customs and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials, but has incurred the wrath of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), who recently raided a house Lozano allegedly used to store drugs, without arresting Lozano. One law enforcement official quoted anonymously commented that "everybody is working against everybody else to the benefit of the drug traffickers."