'A FINGER IN THE DIKE'

Police Face An Uphill Battle Trying To Stem Influx Of Coke Into Edmonton

Major busts of key suspects bring only small, fleeting victories in
the war against an endless tide of cocaine, cops concede.

Cocaine trade competition in Alberta is so fierce, cops say the
organized crime syndicates they bust are quickly replaced by others
cashing in on the drug's sky-high popularity.

Police make short-term dents in the cocaine trade with successful
busts, but they never really translate into long-term gains, said
Staff Sgt. Doug Carruthers with the Edmonton RCMP drug unit.

A huge demand exists for cocaine and crack-cocaine across the
province, said Carruthers.

The stakes are high enough to attract organized crime - and it's
these groups Carruthers says are stepping in to fill the gaps in
supply when police seize any quantity of cocaine.

"Profits are great, someone always wants to move in and take their
place. As long as the demand is there, the impact we make is very
short-term."

Police admit there's little they can do to make any real progress
because knocking out suppliers doesn't eliminate the supply.

"We're best at controlling or suppressing drug traffic. We never
really solve it," said Edmonton police Chief Bob Wasylyshen. "All we
do is stick our finger in the dike - the problem is that big."

Wasylyshen said although cops try to keep a lid on the drug trade,
the time has come to realize the solution doesn't rest entirely with
the justice system.

"We don't take much initiative in terms of helping people get off
drugs. People going into prison need mandatory treatment."

In Edmonton, the three major criminal networks jockeying for position
are outlaw bikers like the Hells Angels, Asian-based gangs and the
so-called Jamaican Posse, said Edmonton Police Service (EPS)
spokesman Annette Bidniak.

"That's not to say there aren't secondary players emerging or trying
to rise into that category all the time," said Bidniak.

Police face a problem learning anything about organizations because
they use violence and intimidation to control their members.

"The challenge is to gather high-quality intelligence which is
accurate that police can also go to a judge with."

Typically, organized crime groups are loosely organized around ethnic
ties, but can also form out of associations developed among career
criminals, Bidniak said.

Police point to the success of joint RCMP and EPS operations over the
last year - notably the arrest of Asian-based and Jamaican alleged
drug rings in July and September 2000 and an outlaw biker bust in
November 2000 - which nabbed 63 suspected drug- and
weapons-traffickers.

And, after a 1-million investigation called Project Katalyst in
March, which ended in another seven arrests, Staff Sgt. Richard
Hobson claimed police made "a major dent in drug trafficking and
certainly cocaine trafficking in the province."

Dwight Schultz, a former cocaine and heroin addict who spent years in
and out of prisons and detox programs, said ultimately the real
problem is addiction.

"The problem isn't the drug, it's the person. People have addictive
personalities and problems in their lives that make them vulnerable
to drug addiction," Schultz said.

Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission's most recent figures show
the number of people turning to the agency with a cocaine addiction
rose from 24.6% in 1994 to 31.4% in 1999. They estimate 5% of
Albertans do hard drugs like cocaine.