'W.E. KATZJU' PROVES TRUE IN DRUG STING

PRINCE GEORGE - The men and women arrived at the Prince George County human
services building yesterday morning with dollar signs in their eyes, ready
to pocket tax refunds of up to $350 from a "Mr. W.E. Katzju."

The 10 suspected drug dealers left the building in handcuffs, however,
after falling prey to a clever drug sting.

The 10 arrested yesterday, along with three others already in jail on other
charges, face a total of 39 counts, ranging from conspiracy to distribute
crack cocaine and/or marijuana to being a habitual offender.

"The operation didn't have a catchy name, just a catchy fellow to see,"
Prince George police Lt. Bill King said of the name he invented - it reads
as "We catch you" - for the Aug. 11 letters promising tax refunds.

"In 44 minutes, we had a complete drug operation completed, with all drug
suspects in custody - and they came to us. I've been doing this 27 years,
and it's the smoothest operation I've been involved in."

King said the investigation, which began in April, lasted longer than
initially expected thanks to a productive informer.

The defendants, nine men and four women, range in age from about 20 to 40
and are all from Prince George, Petersburg and Hopewell.

"Doing it this way meets several objectives, number one being officer
safety," King said. "When you do your normal drug-suspect roundup, you go
out during the early morning hours. And when you invade a home, you never
know what's on the other side of the door."

To the baited suspects, the other side of the door - the one to the
second-floor conference room of the county human services building, that is
- - was a mystery as well.

The suspects made their capture even easier by complying with the phony
letters' requests to bring a current picture identification with a current
address.

Moments before their capture, they sealed the deal by signing their names
on bogus forms.

"It was quite amusing," King said, "and quite fulfilling."