Five members of a relatively new Arizona Department of Public Safety unit are responsible for confiscating nearly 15,000 pounds of pot, more than 300 pounds of cocaine and about 20 pounds of heroin in the past 18 months.

The officers are part of a DPS unit - the only one of its kind in the country - that combines the talents of some of the agency's more successful drug-interdiction officers with the technical skills of those who understand the smallest of details involved in commercial vehicle enforcement, said department director Roger Vanderpool.