COMET TO SCOUR CRIME

Multi-Agency Team Targets Drug Dealing, Prostitution

CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP -- The night was warm and muggy as the three people
walked down the middle of a street in an area known for its drug dealers
and addicts.

As a police car cruised up, one of the three stepped back and popped a
handful of suspected crack cocaine into his mouth. He was arrested as part
of a multi-agency effort to wipe out drug sales along the North Gratiot
corridor that stretches from Chesterfield Township to Mt. Clemens.

The officers involved are members of COMET: the County of Macomb
Enforcement Team. They are given the task of investigating narcotics
trafficking and other related crime, like prostitution, in the county.

The team consists of the FBI, Macomb County Sheriff's Department, Michigan
State Police, and police departments from Mt. Clemens, Warren and Shelby
and Chesterfield townships.

The law enforcement operation in Mt. Clemens and neighboring communities
has been successful due to the ability of officers to have jurisdiction
throughout the county.

"The drug dealers are not centralized in Mt. Clemens like they used to be,"
said Macomb County Sheriff's Lt. Robert Taylor, who is assigned to COMET.

Macomb County is not alone in having a multi-agency team to fight drugs.

An Oakland County-based undercover police operation is hoping to add more
manpower this year. Some officers for the Oakland County Narcotics
Enforcement Team may also come from agencies in Macomb.

Oakland's team is one of the longest running police undercover drug
operation in Metro Detroit. It is made up of Oakland County sheriff's
deputies, FBI agents and police from a number of agencies including
Farmington Hills, Ferndale and Hazel Park.

COMET's efforts along the Gratiot corridor in Macomb began in May. The
intense enforcement effort is funded by a $40,000 High Intensity Drug
Trafficking grant from the U.S. Office of Drug Control to pay for overtime
costs of the participating agencies.

Arrests and drug seizures by COMET have increased over the past year, and
include the arrests of two Canadians who tried to sell more than 3,000
Ecstasy pills to undercover narcotics officers for $30,000.

Earlier this year, officers from the unit also made several arrests for
prostitution-related offenses at a home on South Morgan in Harrison Township.

Responding to a tip and a newspaper ad, an undercover officer went to the
home where arrangements were made to pay a fee in exchange for sex. The
owner of the home was charged with pandering. Another woman was issued a
citation for prostitution, while two other women were charged with
frequenting a place of illegal occupation.

Not just drugs

Last Thursday's arrest near Cairns Field in Mt. Clemens also involved Mt.
Clemens police.

Police say drug dealers work in certain areas in Mt. Clemens, but disperse
to Chesterfield and Clinton townships when police make raids. To attack the
problem, officers "flood" the problem areas with marked and unmarked patrol
cars.

Nearly 20 people were arrested Thursday night, including the 20-year- old
who put the suspected crack cocaine in his mouth.

"It is a popular way to dispose of evidence that way," Mt. Clemens police
officer Pete Jacquemain said.

Two girls, ages 16 and 15, were with the man. They were not arrested, but
officers did seize what was believed to be a bag of marijuana from the
20-year-old man.

To officers, it's more than just drugs they are concerned about.

"A homicide occurred at this same location," Jacquemain said of a random
shooting on May 26 that killed 15-year-old Tiffany Taylor. Her slaying is
under investigation by Mt. Clemens police.

Raids not new

Thursday's four-hour blitz targeted Mt. Clemens and Clinton Township.

Lt. Brian Krutell, acting police chief in Mt. Clemens, said police have
been doing these types of drug raids in the city for years. "This is a
renewed effort," he said, adding that stepped up efforts by COMET are
having a positive impact on the 17,000-resident community.

He added it especially is important for the area near Cairns Field.

"There are a lot of good families who live in those neighborhoods," Krutell
said. "It's not good for anybody to be exposed to that type of stuff."

This is not going to be a summertime or occasional effort, according Macomb
Sheriff Mark Hackel.

"My objective is to remain there through the remainder of the year," said
Hackel, who added that his officers are there to assist Mt. Clemens in
their efforts.

"We are not giving up on this. We are here to stay," he said.

(SIDEBAR)

Cleaning up

Members of the County of Macomb Enforcement Team and Mt. Clemens police
spent four hours in a drug operation in that city and Clinton Township last
Thursday. Here are details of the operation:

* Felony arrests: 5

* Misdemeanor arrests: 14

* Violations of city ordinances: 2

* Warnings issued: 30

* Citations issued for possession or use of alcohol: 5

* Drugs seized: Heroin, marijuana and Vicodin

Source: County of Macomb Enforcement Team