HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT ADDS ANTI-DRUG COORDINATOR

HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT ADDS ANTI-DRUG COORDINATOR    Roger Mackin has been designated Counternarcotics Officer and U.S. Interdiction Coordinator at the Department of Homeland Security by DHS Secretary Tom Ridge and John Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
   The transfer from Office of National Drug Control Policy comes as DHS continues to build a new organization from the ground up. Mackin, a veteran of international anti-drug efforts, was associate director for intelligence in the drug czar's office. He is the first person in the new position.
   The new position will combine the duties of the U.S. Interdiction Coordinator, a position within the ONDCP, with the new responsibilities defined with the Department of Homeland Security Counternarcotics Officer.
   The position will consolidate several functions to fulfill the role of a federal anti-drug effort within the Department of Homeland Security, including coordinating the interdiction of illegal drugs entering the United States and tracking and severing connections between drug trafficking and terrorism.