DISCARDED NEEDLES FOUND WITH ALARMING FREQUENCY

Police Investigate As Syringes Found At Several Ladner Sites

It was earlier this week when a Ladner resident stepped into the Optimist
office and told an employee there were used needles on the front landscaping.

There were four of them, one which still had a clear substance inside.

Across the street, Petro Canada gas station employees couldn't believe it
when they found six needles inside the toilet tank in their public washroom
two weeks ago.

Station owner Anne Zbitnoff said staff checked the toilet because it wasn't
working properly. Luckily, Zbitnoff had a needle retrieval kit given to the
station two years ago by the garbage collection company it employs. Up
until this month, there was never a need for it.

"There seems to be a proliferation of these things around here in the last
month," she said.

Petro Can employee Stephanie Beharrell mentioned the discovery to a
customer who lives nearby. "She said that she had walked through the
undeveloped area (of a nearby townhouse complex) and had already seen a few
needles."

Delta police drug section Sgt. Ken Mills said while there's always been
cocaine in Ladner, officers have seen a recent increase in the number of
needle users.

"We've been made aware of the problem and we are investigating," he said.

Police are trying to learn just what kind of drug is floating around Ladner
Officers have been unable to confirm if it's heroin, cocaine or a
combination of the hard drugs, known on the street as a "speed ball."

Mills said police are interested in hearing from the public when they find
needles because drug unit members want to know where the used syringes are
turning up. Mills cautions people not to handle the syringes and to call
police if they're not sure what to do.

The South Delta Health Unit says people can collect the needles using tongs
or pliers. The needles must be placed in a puncture-free container like a
glass jar or a coffee can with a lid. After that, needles can be placed in
the garbage or returned to a pharmacy.

A provincial Ministry of Health hand-out instructs people to wash their
hands with soap and water even if the proper precautions are taken.