DRUG BUST IN BOURNE LINKED TO STRING OF CRIMES

Just days after a crack house was raided in the shadows of Bourne
police headquarters in Buzzards Bay, detectives descended on a unit at
the Canalside Apartments at North Sagamore where they say a
17-year-old boy was dealing exclusive and expensive "Hydro" marijuana.
Bourne Police detective John Doble said the arrest of Michael A. Fritz
at 18 Scotch Pine Road Wednesday night culminated six months of
surveillance following complaints by the Canalside management and its
tenants. Doble said officers watched vehicles routinely arriving at
the apartment unit and making brief stops from early afternoon until
late evening. "Some of his customers, based on our observations, were
people known to us for past drug violations," Doble said. "Local
people. All ages. In and out." Doble said detectives secured a search
warrant and moved in, seizing the exclusive variety of indoor-grown
marijuana with a street value of $5,000, a digital scale and various
paraphernalia related to drug dealing. An expensive Century safe was
also seized.

Fritz faces charges of marijuana possession and intent to distribute.
He was released on $1,000 bail and returns to court Feb. 23 for a
pre-trial hearing. Bourne police, meanwhile, are intent on probing
where the money from what they say was a lucrative grass-dealing
operation was kept or invested and where the supply came from. There
is also the matter of dealing with Fritz's customers and potential
linkage to breaks into homes and vehicles around town, something that
has plagued police for months and shows no signs of abating.

Detective Sgt. Richard Silvestro says many of those North Sagamore
marijuana customers are now thought to be linked to that continuing
rash of breaks, with merchandise and equipment being taken to finance
drug habits. Doble and Silvestro said Fritz lives with his mother and
that visitors to their apartment are not noted for holding legitimate
jobs. Doble said the variety of marijuana that Fritz allegedly sold
was as highly addictive as it is exclusive and costly.

Doble said the "Hydro" variety of grass often sells for $300 to $400
an ounce. "We feel that's part of the contribution to all our breaks
around town," Silvestro said. "Nickel-and-dime breaks into cars; stuff
grabbed, even breaks into residences. We've had reports from families
about money being taken and suddenly family jewelry being missing; and
then we find out about breaks in the neighborhood.

"There's a driving need for money to buy the kind of grass we found in
Canalside," he said. "It's expensive, and the people involved based on
our observations are younger and younger. The age range is from 14 to
the mid-20s and older." Doble said Fritz is "a street-smart kid," The
detective said if Fritz is knocked out of the local drug-dealing
scene, "somebody else will step in and take his place." Doble
encourages residents to report suspicions by calling 508-759-0608,
ext. 2. He said tips do not have to be drug related. Messages are kept
confidential, he said.

Assisting in the North Sagamore operation were the Plymouth and
Barnstable County Sheriff's Offices, Sandwich and State Police and the
Cape Cod Narcotics Task Force.

As for the crack house at Main Street, Silvestro said it was broken
up. "There are others around town; this isn't the only one," he said.
"We're looking at others. This stuff they're involved with is
addictive. It's here. We have crews dealing in town from all over:
Holyoke, Middleboro, Boston, Dorchester. We can't ID all of them; plus
we have people who grew up here and are involved in this stuff."
Silvestro and Doble said that in recent weeks during routine traffic
stops of suspected drug dealers, they found individuals carrying
$3,000, $6,000 and $10,000 in cash; often with $20 bills neatly
strapped together. "In every case when asked about the money, they
said they were going to buy a car," Doble said.

Detective David Lonergan, the Bourne police prosecutor said that on
any given Monday morning at Falmouth District Court, drug-related
cases total about 60 percent of the court's load.

Toward the end of the week, he said, the percentage goes up to 80
involving cases with underlying narcotics implications.