Narcotics Rewards Program
3040370
171475730
2007-11-14T17:59:16Z
SmackBot
433328
Standard headings &/or gen fixes., Replaced: =External link= → =External links= using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]]
The '''Narcotics Rewards Program''' is a program of the [[United States Department of State]] that offers rewards up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of major international [[Illegal drug trade|narcotics traffickers]].
The Narcotics Rewards Program was established by [[United States Congress|Congress]] in 1986 as a tool to assist the U.S. Government identify and bring to justice the major violators of U.S. [[narcotics laws]] responsible for bringing hundreds of tons of illicit drugs into the United States each year.
The program gives the [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] statutory authority to offer rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of major narcotics traffickers who operate outside of the United States to send drugs into the U.S.A.
The Department of State’s [[Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs]] (INL) manages the program in close coordination with the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]], [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]], [[U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement|Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] (ICE), the [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] (DEA), [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI), and other interested U.S. agencies.
Proposals to pay rewards are submitted to the Department of State by the chief of mission at a U.S. embassy at the behest of a U.S. law enforcement agency. Reward proposals are carefully reviewed by an interagency committee, which makes a recommendation for a reward payment to the Secretary of State. Only the Secretary of State has the authority to determine if a reward should be paid, and, in cases where there is Federal criminal jurisdiction, the Secretary must obtain the concurrence of the [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]].
Since the program’s inception, the Department of State has paid over $24 million in rewards to individuals who came forward with information leading to the arrest or conviction of major narcotics traffickers.
The U.S. Government will ensure confidentiality to individuals who provide information on major narcotics traffickers, and, if appropriate, will relocate these individuals and their families.
Overseas, individuals wishing to provide information on major narcotics traffickers may contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. In the U.S., individuals should contact the DEA, FBI, or ICE directly.
==Source==
*[http://www.state.gov/p/inl/narc/rewards/39410.htm State Department rewards page]
==See also==
*[[Rewards For Justice Program]]
==External links==
*[http://www.state.gov/p/inl/narc/ INL regional and country programs]
[[Category:United States Department of State]]
[[Category:United States Department of Justice]]
[[Category:United States controlled substances law]]