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Navy: Key West bars must patrol for dealers

Street-level drug dealing at local bars in Key West, Fla., is coming under scrutiny from local Navy officials after an undercover sting operation led to the arrest of 25 street-level dealers who were charged with selling cocaine and marijuana.

The base commander at Naval Air Station Key West is urging local bar owners to help crack down on drug dealing, or else those bars — mostly those along the bustling tourist strip of Duval Street — could end up on list making them off-limits to Navy personnel.

“Within the next 90 days, I ask that you please take necessary precautions to ensure that service members can frequent your establishments without concern that they will be exposed to an environment where illegal controlled substances are readily available,” Capt Steven Holmes wrote in the letter to bar owners.

“Following this 90-day period, I intend to reach out to you and inquire about the progress made to combat this issue,” Holmes said.

Holmes’ letter comes after Naval Criminal Investigative Service mounted an undercover operation this spring that identified 45 drug dealers selling to an undercover agent who was posing as a civilian employee at the base. Of those, 25 were ultimately charged with drug crimes, said NCIS Special Agent Mark Barstow, who ran the sting operation.

“A key element was making sure that it was obvious to these dope dealers that they were dealing to someone who actually worked on the naval station,” Barstow said.

“We want them to think twice before they deal their drugs to an active-duty Navy member,” Barstow said in an interview.

The probe found five bars where drugs were easily obtained, often from employees of the bar, Barstow said. Drugs sold to the undercover agent included cocaine, marijuana, OxyContin, Ecstasy and a synthetic drug similar to Ecstasy known as “BZP,” Barstow said.

If Navy officials are not happy with the bar owners’ responses, they could ask the local Armed Forces Disciplinary Control Board to ban Navy personnel from those establishments.

Navy officials have not placed any Key West bars on the no-go list in recent memory, said Jim Brooks, a spokesman for NAS Key West.

Key West is home to about 8,000 Navy service members, family members and civilian employees, Brooks said.

Holmes said he hopes to protect sailors and others from “poor decision-making.”

“Regrettably, some sailors are prone to poor decision-making, particularly when their inhibitions are eased by alcohol. Therefore, I am concerned about permitting them to frequent establishments that expose them to risks of illegal controlled substances,” the base commander wrote.