VPD TARGETS STREET DEALERS

One Suspect Even Tried To Rob An Undercover Officer

A Vancouver police undercover operation targeting low-level street
drug dealers in the Downtown Eastside and the Commercial Drive area
has resulted in 38 people facing trafficking charges.

Arrest warrants have been issued for the 38 people following the sting
operation, which ran from Oct. 2 to 12, said Insp. Dean Robinson of
the Vancouver Police Department's gang and drug section.

One of the individuals arrested even tried to rob an undercover
officer, said Robinson.

"Back off or I'll stab you," Robinson said of the man's warning to the
officer. "He's in custody now."

Robinson said they targeted those dealing on the street to help throw
the drug-dealing networks into chaos.

And he said the typical image of the impoverished drug dealer was not
always the case.

"The dealers are commonly portrayed as down and out, but many we deal
with are not addicted to the product . . . They are out to make money,
and many of these traffickers are profit-driven, with fancy cars and
nice homes."

The majority of the drugs purchased were crack cocaine and marijuana,
said Robinson, who added that police are seeing much less heroin
available on the street.

"These individuals prey on addicts, they prey on the mentally ill, and
they destroy individuals, families and communities," said Robinson.

He also said the drug dealers are in various ways tied to organized
crime groups and gangs.

"I can absolutely tell you these drugs are coming down through a
network . . . Someone is making loads of money. Absolutely, it is
linked to gangs."

The operation was code-named Tyke 3. It was the third buy-and-bust
operation involving undercover operators this year.

One week of the sting was devoted to the Commercial Drive area near
the Broadway SkyTrain station.

Police also issued arrest warrants for one juvenile and are seeking to
arrest others.