THE DPD’S CUT OF THE ACTION

CRIME In August, Dallas narcotics officers and police from Irving, Keller, and Bedford helped seize $1.1 million in cash on a huge cocaine bust. Under a complicated asset-sharing plan, Dallas will get “the lion’s share” of the loot, says PHILLIP JORDAN, special agent in charge of the local U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office.

Each agency taking part in a bust requests a certain percentage of the take based on its involvement. The DEA makes a recommendation and a federal judge decides who gets what. “There can sometimes be a lot of negotiation to it,” says a DEA agent who wants to remain anonymous. “But more often than not everyone is pretty agreeable to splitting the money.”

Last year, the Dallas police confiscated almost $6 million, says Deputy Chief RICK HATLER, but the $1.1 million seizure was the biggest ever for this area. The DPD stands to get around a half million dollars added to its budget from this operation. But the City Council shouldn’t rejoice too much. State and federal laws prohibit cities from reducing police budgets after confiscating windfalls, and police departments can use the money for anything but salaries, which come out of the city’s general fund.

Though his agency will get none of the money, the DEA’s Jordan loves the irony of using drug money to fund law enforcement. “This money would have eventually gone back to the godfathers in Columbia,” he says. “I’m sure they’re real hap about it.”