POLICE SWOOP DOWN ON DRUG DEALERS

Sergeant Claims 'Big Dent' In Downtown Trade With 20 Arrests, But
Others Skeptical Of Cleanup

In a bid to clear downtown Victoria of street-level drug dealers,
police announced Wednesday the arrest of 20 people and that warrants
have been issued for 17 more. The crackdown is part of Operation
Combined Effort where police relied partly on downtown business
people to target drug dealers.

Two dozen police officers were part of the four-week undercover
operation, Victoria police said.

But a Victoria defence lawyer suggests that any effects of the
cleanup will be short-lived because the root of the problem is drug
addiction. "These people are without exception drug addicts
themselves," said Mike Mulligan.

"They were able to arrest 37 of the lowest of the low drug dealers
but there will be 37 other people taking their place immediately,"
said Mulligan. "I would be most surprised if things are any different
two weeks from now."

Charges were laid against 37 people, 33 of them males. Four juveniles
were among those charged. A total of 64 charges were laid against the
individuals, with 45 charges related to drugs.

Undercover police made 32 purchases of cocaine, four of marijuana and
one of LSD. Police targeted the area where traffickers gather on
Douglas Street near Johnson or Yates streets. Some traffickers were
staying out of downtown in an apparent attempt to evade police, said
Sgt. Jamie Pearce.

Some were selling drugs within a few metres of undercover police
officers, said Pearce who called the arrests "a very big dent" in the
downtown drug trade.

Street-level drug traffickers are a target for police because they
are a problem for shopkeepers downtown, said acting Insp. Les Sylven.
"The business community has been telling us and from what we've seen,
the problem is the street-level drug traffickers," he said. "We got
them out of the area and we think it will have a significant effect
on the perception of public safety down there."

If the accused are convicted on trafficking charges, the police will
ask the courts to ban them from a "red zone" in the downtown area,
defined as Pandora Avenue to the water below Wharf Street and
Belleville Street to Vancouver Street.

Pearce called the red zone "the best solution that we have at this
time. It does give us the teeth that if these people do come
downtown, they'll be immediately arrested."

Pierre Gauthier, manager of the Odeon movie theatre, said drug sweeps
so far haven't had a lasting impact.

"It's a very complex problem but the police are trying. These people
down there, where are they going to go?

"I know every one of them by their face. I have all the sympathy in
the world for the poor guys who are drawn into these drugs with these needles."

The next step for police is to increase the presence of uniformed
officers downtown, Sylven said. It's not clear long police will
increase their downtown patrols, but Sylven indicated that it will be
for a limited period.