DRUG DEALS CURBED IN DOWNTOWN AREA, TOP COP SAYS

18 Arrested in Shaughnessy Village. Some Residents Still Skeptical, Saying
They'll Wait for Spring to See If Business Resumes

Montreal police say they've made serious inroads in ridding a downtown
neighbourhood of its burgeoning drug problem.

But some residents remain skeptical at best, saying they'll wait and see
until next spring to determine whether the drug dealers who patrolled the
streets this year will make a return.

"It's quieter now," said Commander Daniel Rondeau, head of Montreal police
Station 20, in an interview. "Many were arrested or they left the place."

In October, The Gazette showed a glimpse of the life of residents on Tupper
St. between Fort St. and Lambert Closse Ave. and the brash, young dealers
doing a brisk business in the neighbourhood.

More daring at first, dealers did little to hide the fact they're selling,
handing out business cards and openly dealing on the street in full view of
residents.

Some residents aren't convinced the dealers are gone.

"It's cold now so these characters don't hang out so much on the street
corners," said one Tupper St. homeowner, who is still fearful now of reprisals.

"I'm not trusting the situation just yet."

Another resident commented:

"Things are still going on as usual, it's just not as blatant, but there
are still dealers here."

Still others, particularly the residents of one especially problematic
building on Tupper, told The Gazette their lives are quieter and their
personal security has improved.

"My axe hasn't left the spot behind my front door," said one resident, who
says he no longer feels it is necessary to arm himself when he leaves his
apartment.

Police moved in with a series of raids.

Eight search warrants were executed between February and November.

Rondeau said police arrested 18 people in the area known as the Shaughnessy
Village. Information provided by phone tips from witnesses led to an
additional eight arrests.

And officers arrested another five people alleged to have been caught
dealing on the streets.

"The majority were possession and trafficking charges," Rondeau said.

But there were some who got away, Rondeau added.

When the pressure was on, police went to some apartments and found them
vacated.

"We're not sure where they are," Rondeau said. "It's possible they have
moved to a new sector."

Residents were to meet with apartment building owners in the area to
discuss how to keep drug dens from popping up in certain buildings in the
neighbourhood.

"These (dealers) move in and they know they can't stay there for 10 years,
so they stay for a certain amount of time and move on," Rondeau said. "When
they leave, they don't usually come back."

Residents can expect the extra police attention they've been craving in the
new year, when the area west of Guy St. will be covered by police at
Station 12, who currently patrol Westmount.

Because the volume of calls is lower in neighbouring Westmount than it is
in the downtown area, Rondeau said residents in the Shaughnessy Village
area will benefit.

Those in attendance at a recent community meeting echoed the commander's
comments.

"(Station 12) will have more constables available and be better equipped to
deal with the area," Rondeau said, adding: "I think the residents were
pleased to know that their neighbourhood was going to Station 12 and they
would be most available."