REGIONAL DRUG STING NETS 53 STREET-LEVEL TRAFFICKERS

Houston RCMP recently participated in a four-month, region-wide
operation aimed at street-level drug traffickers that resulted in 53
arrests and more than 100 charges.

Undercover officers from Queen Charlotte City to Houston purchased a
variety of drugs including cocaine, marijuana, crack, morphine and psilocybin.

Const. Jagdev Uppal, the project coordinator out of Prince Rupert,
said Houston officers arrested three individuals over the past two
weeks in connection with the investigation.

The operation, entitled Project E-Parkway, is part of a Canada-wide
get-tough-on-drugs campaign.

"In the past few years the problem of illicit synthetic drugs has
evolved from a concern for Canadian law enforcement to a national
priority," states The Drug Situation Report, an RCMP strategic document.

"The drug problem is a huge problem for us," Houston Sgt. Sheila White said.

"We were happy to see the [North District] Drug Section target the
street-level dealers."

Judges also appear to be getting the message that communities are fed
up with the drug trade. Last week, Judge William Jack handed
convicted drug dealer Aaron Tom two consecutive one year terms plus
time-served on trafficking charges sending him into the federal
penitentiary system.