MOUNTIES MAKE LARGE DENT IN CITY'S DRUG TRADE

Kamloops Mounties say a 10-week undercover operation that wrapped up
last Friday will put a dent in the city's drug trade.

"We're dealing with a fairly significant amount of drugs," RCMP Insp.
Yves Lacasse said.

"There's going to be an impact."

The operation, dubbed Project Epalister, saw undercover officers work
their way up the ladder of Kamloops' drug world, beginning with
street-level dealers.

"RCMP used a three-phase approach in the planning of this operation,"
Lacasse said.

"First, officers targeted dealers at the street level in the downtown
core. . . . The second phase targeted the mid-level to upper-level
dealers, those bringing drugs to individuals on the street for re-sale.

"The final phase of the operation concentrated on the upper echelon of
the drug trade in Kamloops.

"We have a level of people here that are moving a large amount of
drugs." In all, 26 people - 22 men and four women, all Kamloops
residents - will face a total of 36 charges related to drug
trafficking.

Eight of the individuals identified by investigators are prolific
offenders. Lacasse said he doesn't expect to see the dealers back on
Kamloops streets any time soon.

"Knowing what we know about some of these people, we're confident
they're going to be going away for a long time," he said, adding he
knows the bust won't fix the city's drug problems.

"Drug dealing on the street, drug dealing at the bars, that's always
been around. . . . There's always going to be somebody out there
taking over, wanting to sell the drugs."

As of Tuesday, nine of the 26 were in police custody. Lacasse said
officers will work this week to arrest the remaining 17.

According to Lacasse, the investigation focused on the downtown core,
based on information police had been receiving.

"There's going to be an increase in police presence in the downtown
core," he said.

"Expect a lot of foot patrols."

Lacasse said the removal of drug dealers from the community has a
trickle-down effect and impacts crime as a whole.

"The drug trade is a trade that involves violence, property crime, on
occasion prostitution," he said.

"It's all intertwined. The people on the street level, we believe, are
involved in other crime."

While acknowledging the fact that drug dealers will find a new place
to set up shop if they don't feel comfortable downtown, Lacasse
maintained the increased police pressure on criminals recently has had
a significant impact on the city's crime as a whole.

"Are we displacing the problem? That's quite possible," he said.

"But because of pressure from police in Kamloops, we know many
[criminals] have moved out of town."