ADDICTS BEHIND PERTH BURGLARY WAVE, CLAIM POLICE

A HOUSE used in an alleged stolen goods and drugs swapping racket is one of
dozens of homes which form the backbone of Perth's suburban drug trade,
police believe.

After Rockingham police seized a mobile phone from the house, they said
they received 60 calls to the phone in one day, mostly from addicts
desperate to swap stolen goods for drugs.

The volume of trade between home burglars and drug dealers accounts for
Perth's status as the nation's burglary capital, police say.

Senior police believe pawnbrokers are still the unwitting Mr Bigs of the
stolen goods trade despite extra security measures to stop the amount of
stolen property being sold through second-hand dealers.

Insp. Andy Garkaklis, of Fremantle, said officers were still investigating
where goods believed stolen went after being dropped off at the Bentley
Street house, in Singleton. He claimed thieves came from as far away as
Wanneroo to swap stolen property for drugs at the house. Insp. Garkaklis
urged homeowners to report suspicious activity in their street.

The Singleton bust came after neighbours told police of constant streams of
people coming and going from the house.

Police said property worth more than $50,000 was impounded and quantities
of crystal methamphetamine and cannabis were seized when they raided the
Singleton house on May 28 and again on May 30.

Seven people have been arrested. They include Lucinda Anne Barry-James, 32,
who lived in the house and owned the mobile phone which police seized.

Ms James was charged with possessing a prohibited drug, 26 counts of
unlawful possession, receiving stolen goods, possessing cannabis and
possessing amphetamines.

Police arrested two people who went to the house on May 28 while officers
were still cataloguing suspected stolen property.

The same day a woman was charged when she rang Mrs Barry-James"mobile phone
and unwittingly agreed to meet police officers to swap watches for drugs.

Officers also were called back to the house days after the two raids when
associates of the woman who lived in the house tried to take advantage of
the fact she was in custody and break into the house.

Insp. Garkaklis said no suburb was immune from the effects of the drug trade.

"The issue, at the end of the day, is that people can close their eyes to
this sort of activity but it could well be happening in your street," he
said. "Don't be complacent. Don't come home and lock yourself in your
house. Find out who is living in your area."

A previous four-month investigation by police in Cannington, called
Operation Deadline, also targeted houses suspected of being involved in
drugs-for-stolen goods operations.

It ended in February, with 55 arrests.

Figures from the Bureau of Statistics show West Australians were 41.6 per
cent more likely than eastern States residents to fall victim to a break-in
or burglary last year.

The WA rate in 1999 was 36.8 per cent higher than in other States. Last
year, burglary was almost twice as common in WA as in Victoria.

In a separate raid on a Fremantle house yesterday, two men were charged
after police allegedly found 1.6kg of cannabis, 1g of ecstasy and $4070 in
cash which officers allege was the proceeds of selling drugs.