promote drug awareness and prevention at 19 local primary schools and several day care centres.

This year's OUTREACH programme, developed by Senior Inspector Lorraine Kennedy, uses puppet shows and situational skits to increase young children's awareness of the dangers of drugs.

"The programme has been developed specifically for children between the ages of four to seven, but can easily be expanded to include all elementary school children,'' said US Customs Officer in Charge, Mr. Steve Vogelhaupt.

This is not the first time the two agencies have joined together to fight drug abuse. Last year, they teamed up and visited local schools with a US Customs Detector Dog Team.

"And this is just the beginning,'' said Mr. Vogelhaupt. "OUTREACH programmes such as these are designed to focus on the youth of the community and the dangers posed by substance abuse.'' Police Community Relations Officer Sgt. John Dale, said the project was "an excellent idea'', and strongly supported drug education and community efforts to eliminate the use of controlled drugs.

Senior Inspector Kennedy said she came up with the idea for a drug awareness puppet show when someone told her about elementary school children smoking marijuana on their way to classes.

She believes if one child is helped, the project OUTREACH puppet show will have been successful.

The production, which is often translated into Spanish to reach Spanish speaking children, features a cast of six puppets characters known as "the Puffets'': Snowball, G-Raff, the Monkey on your back, Billy Bull, Wolffe and Dino the Bermuda Dinosaur, who is also the Police's puppet mascot.

In the script, the Puffets are on their way to school when they encounter Wolffe the drug dealer, who tries to convince them that "drugs look like candy''.

Throughout the programme, the Puffet cast is reminded by Dino the Bermuda Dinosaur "that only sick people use drugs''.

Sgt. Dale said because the children of Bermuda have seen Dino before, they should relate well to the project's message.

OIC Vogelhaupt said OUTREACH programmes are "an integral part of the US Customs Service'', where they work together with local authorities, aministrators and the public to ensure "that the greatest number of youths are reached''.