MORE THAN 1,000 PEOPLE CONTRIBUTED TO PROJECT COLISEE

Secrecy Was Paramount. Now Come Searches, Interviews And Prep For
Hundreds Of Cases

Who knew?

The RCMP invested four years and the help of more than 1,000 police
officers, border guards, customs officials, prosecutors and others in
yesterday's crackdown on organized crime and drug running in Montreal.

A bonus would be heightened public awareness of organized crime and
its impact, said Chief Superintendent Derek Ogden, director of
organized crime and drug operations for the RCMP.

The Mafia operates below the radar and is less visible to the public
than street gangs, Ogden noted.

"But their activities filter down to the shooting on the street
corner, and the (neighbourhood) break-ins.

"The public sees the broken window on their car and the stuff stolen.
They might not see the link from the person stealing to get money for
drugs to the drug dealer on the street and the kingpin importer."

The operation, called Project Colisee, was just the latest effort by
the RCMP-led Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, a team approach
to crime-fighting that has been functioning in Canada for more than 25
years.

"In every province, we have a way to pool operations and share
information from every law-enforcement agency in the country," said
Ogden, who oversees the special unit. "It allows police to look at
what the criminal organizations are doing, and which pose the greatest
risk."

Project Colisee is "one of the most sophisticated, complex cases we've
had to take on."

Initially, about 50 people would have been involved in the operation
but by the time the first raid took place, well more than 1,000 people
had contributed, he said.

The stages in planning and executing a joint police project:

Criminal intelligence units identify a good target to go after and
enlist prosecutors to help with search warrants and wiretap
authorizations.

A core police enforcement group of municipal, provincial and federal
forces is formed to carry out the plan.

Organizers look outside the police forces for expert help and decide
when to bring outsiders on board.

Secrecy is paramount for the police, Ogden said. "They understand it's
important to keep the information quiet, especially in the take-down
stage."

With the arrests and seizures out of the way, the project now moves to
another phase.

"There's a lot of work to do," Ogden said, alluding to interviews,
searches and preparation for hundreds of court cases.

"We have to ensure everything follows smoothly."