POLICE CRACK DOWN ON DRUGS

Just In Time For City's Massive Street Festival

WINNIPEG police believe more than hot dogs and cotton candy could be sold
at this weekend's downtown street party, but hope they've curbed the
potential for illegal activity with the arrests of six alleged drug vendors.

Nearly half a million dollars worth of cocaine and marijuana was seized in
four separate incidents Thursday which police touted as a "pre-weekend
cleanup".

In the largest cocaine bust in recent memory, police recovered nearly a
kilogram of the drug from a Whellams Lane apartment. Police say the cocaine
could have been broken down into 1,400 separate street level sales and is
valued at $56,000.

Police say the crackdown was not planned to coincide with the downtown
celebration, but admit their timing was perfect, with 100,000 people
expected to flood the streets this weekend.

"It's a very fortunate situation that this happened right before the
weekend. It was more a convenient coincidence," Det.-Sgt. Jeff Bellingham
of the vice division said yesterday.

Const. Bob Johnson said the arrests should send a message to drug dealers
who might view the large crowds as an opportunity to expand their business.

"We are going to be out there watching. We have a commitment to the
community to make this the safest event possible, and we'll have officers
out there scanning for all types of illegal activity, including the sale of
drugs," he said.

A 30-year-old man is facing drug charges stemming from the massive cocaine
haul.

Two other men in their 20s are facing similar charges after police
recovered 18 rocks of crack cocaine during searches in the area of Mountain
Avenue and McPhillips Street.

A 17-year-old man was arrested on Redwood Avenue when police used a search
warrant and found 95 rocks of cocaine inside his home.

And two men in their early 40s are facing drug and weapons charges
following a search at a Jamieson Avenue home which uncovered a large
marijuana grow operation.

Police seized 236 plants in various stages of growth, 1,632 grams of loose
marijuana and a .32-caliber handgun. The total value of the marijuana is
estimated at more than $400,000.

It was the city's first major marijuana seizure in some time as police set
their sights on more dangerous drugs like cocaine and ecstasy, said Bellingham.