COPS UNITE IN DRUG FIGHT

To the officers patrolling the streets of Fournier it was becoming obvious
earlier this year employees of a local bar were selling more than beer and
shots.

Complaints were coming in to the local detachment that a bartender and
waitress were selling cocaine to clientele.

But the uniformed officers had a big problem.

It's hard to do an undercover investigation in a marked cruiser while
wearing a police uniform.

So the local detachment called in Project Street Team, a newly-formed unit
of OPP drug enforcement officers who bring their specialized tools and
knowledge of drug investigations and combine it with the street knowledge
and tips from local officers.

The team sent a trained undercover officer into the bar who made several
purchases of drugs, leading to the arrest of two people.

The bust was just one of several the team has conducted since starting up
in September, says Det.-Sgt. Paul Henry of the Ottawa OPP Drug Enforcement
Unit.

The list of busts range from undercover buys to huge seizures of marijuana
operations.

With the mandate of providing drug investigation support to the OPP East
Region, the team has laid 48 charges to date, seizing $3.3 million in drugs
and $60,000 in stolen property.

The team provides drug investigation tools and assistance to detachments
east of Ottawa in towns and villages like Bourget, Winchester, Kemptville
and Hawkesbury.

In the past, the Ottawa Drug Enforcement Unit was primarily focused on
undercover investigations. But that's changed, says Henry.

DIVERSITY

"We have evolved into a diversified unit where we join forces with other
police agencies and the area uniform members," he says. "We try to respond
to the needs of those areas. We will investigate any drug offences and
attempt to seize drugs."

Without tools like surveillance equipment, undercover officers or unmarked
cars, local detachments often had trouble gathering key evidence needed for
convictions, says Henry.

Without the proper tools to make a bust, information on local drug dealers
would sometimes not be used because hopes for a bust were low.

Project Street Team can access the equipment needed, including the expert
witnesses and investigators needed to take dealers down.

The officers also have special expertise in the handling of exhibits for
court presentation further ensuring charges will stick.

But that expertise is useless without the many tips from local uniformed
officers and Crime Stoppers that lead to arrests and charges, says Henry.

The team also has training in proceeds of crime investigations making a
further dent in drug rings by seizing the assets of organized crime.