BUSTING THE DEALERS

A year-long effort by undercover drug agents put dozens of alleged drug
dealers behind bars last week in Waynesboro and Burke County, showing once
again that cooperation between law enforcement agencies can do more than
any single agency can ever accomplish alone.

The several teams of undercover cops bought drugs and filmed transactions
over the course of many months, doing work that is extremely dangerous -
drug dealers, after all, are part of an underworld that is armed, dangerous
and experienced.

Of course, the arrests ring too familiar a bell. Such drug busts go down
all the time these days across America and where they used to make
front-page news, now they often hardly make news at all. And all too often,
drug dealers are repeat customers at state prisons, serving only portions
of their sentences before they're right back on the streets peddling all
kinds of dangerous chemicals. Until America comes up with a way to suppress
demand, the suppliers will continue to crawl in the dark corners of our
communities.

Things were clearly getting out of hand in Waynesboro and so we
congratulate the Georgia Bureau of Investigation field office in Thomson,
the GBI state Task Force, the Waynesboro Police Department and the Burke
County Sheriff's Office for making this sting operation a priority.