COPS CRACK DOWN ON CRACK DEALERS

There were so many arrests following a 10-day sweep for crack dealers
in Whalley that police and prosecutors had to arrange a dedicated
courtroom this week to handle the cases.

Undercover police bought drugs from 58 street-level suppliers between
Jan. 20 and Feb. 8 in North Surrey, then started arresting suspects on Feb. 13.

So far, 25 people have been charged with more than 70 offences, all
for selling crack cocaine.

More arrests and charges are expected.

It's considered one of the biggest drug sweeps ever carried out in
Surrey, and police are promising there will be more equally ambitious
crackdowns on dealers in the future.

"Now they're going to have to be looking over their shoulders," said
Surrey RCMP Cpl. Roger Morrow.

To accommodate the flood of cases, court administrators took the
unusual step of booking a single courtroom for all of the related cases.

The arrests are the work of a new drug enforcement team based in
Whalley with the assistance of other officers.

In all, there were 15 Surrey Mounties involved in the sweep, which
netted "rocks" worth $20 to $40 apiece.