A REMINDER FOR DOPE DEALERS

Another law-enforcement sweep of alleged drug dealers Thursday re-affirmed
the city of Charleston's sustained messages that those who engage in such
illegal commerce do so at tangible risk of criminal charges - and that
peninsula neighborhoods will not continue to be overrun by such insidious
enterprises.

Though critics likely will point out that the police described the 32
suspects targeted in Thursday's Operation Broken Needle as "low-level"
heroin dealers, the sweep was still a positive step on the city's East
Side. And the related seizure of 350 bags of heroin and a half-kilo of
cocaine in a Mount Pleasant motel room was a clear indication that more
than a few local dope customers lost their sources Thursday.

The raid is a continuation of the policy represented by Operation Mayday
nearly 15 months ago, when officers from 11 law-enforcement agencies
participated in one of the most comprehensive drug raids in the city's
history, reaping 43 arrests. Operation Dragnet followed in February.

Thursday's operation, the second major drug raid in the city this year,
included officers from the city police force and agents from the U.S.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

That operation won't guarantee the permanent removal of all drug dealers
from Charleston neighborhoods that long have been plagued by their
presence. Over time, however, these operations will make the peddling of
illegal drugs on our streets less profitable - and with continued
vigilance, less prevalent.

As East Side resident Carlos Jenkins told Post and Courier reporter Glenn
Smith: "Can you imagine what it would be like if the police were not here?"

And Lt. Richard Vance, a narcotics unit supervisor for the city of
Charleston Police Department, explained the need for these periodic sweeps:
"If we could solve it all with one raid, we would be miracle workers. We're
just going to have to keep on top of it. And sooner or later, the word's
going to get out: You don't come to Charleston; it's hot."

That's the type of heat that drug-plagued communities need.