LEQ'A:MEL WARNS OFF DRUG DEALERS

Members Rally Tonight To Protect Community

The residents of the Leq'a:mel First Nation have a warning to drug
traffickers - stay away.

That message will be made loud and clear tonight, when band members
rally on the Lougheed Highway in front of one of the band's sites
east of Mission. They'll be wearing red T-shirts and waving signs to
get attention.

"Our community members are fed up with the drug dealers in our
community," said Alice Thompson, chief of Leq'a:mel First Nation.

But the action also reflects the frustration and anger that has been
building among the band's members over the past 18 months or, as drug
dealers have become more brash.

"People have seen cars coming and going and have seen hand-offs [of
drugs]," while some meetings have even been captured on surveillance
cameras, said Thompson.

She said there has been an increase in petty crimes, presumably by
drug users hunting for items to sell to pay for drugs.

There are increasing reports of theft and vandalism at the band's
community sites and at mobile home parks Leq'a:mel manages on Nicomen
Island and in Deroche. Wire has been stolen from local street
lighting, and just a few days ago, the band's van was broken into and
the CD and DVD players were ripped out. And that van was brought in
to replace a bus that was vandalized, said Thompson.

She said the police are notified as soon as events happen, but they
can't always respond, and to make arrests, officers have to have
clear evidence.

The fact that Leq'a:mel is beyond an urban centre also make the
community vulnerable to preying drug traffickers, she said.

"It seems they can pick on a reserve - it's far enough out of town,"
for police not to be able to respond fast enough, Thompson said.

So on June 18, at a very vocal meeting, Leq'a:mel members decided it
was time to do something.

"People are very positive about the drug rally," including band
leaders from around the valley, she said.

The infiltration of drug trafficking that plagues urban areas has
also reached into the region's First Nations communities. The Cheam
band, for example, has even expelled its own members or tenants who
are involved in drug dealing, and that could happen with Leq'a:mel,
too, said Thompson.

The band is already planning another rally at another site soon.
Leq'a:mel's rally tonight takes place from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. , at the
old band office site, at 41290 Lougheed Hwy., Deroche.