RCMP DRUG RAID `HEAVY-HANDED'

Several people charged in last Friday's pre-dawn drug raid of homes in
Hammonds Plains are questioning the validity of the police searches.

"This wasn't a police raid, it was a home invasion," declared one man
facing a single count of marijuana possession resulting from the sting.

Four men and one woman arrested in the take-down, as well as a community
member upset with the "heavy-handed" Tantallon RCMP tactics during the
raid, sat down with The Daily News on Wednesday night.

All spoke on the condition of anonymity, fearing their comments would be
used against them at trial, or police might target them after reading their
critical opinions.

"We're no angels," one said. "And we're not choir boys, that's for sure.
But to have done what police did, after an eight-month investigation, they
should have known we're not violent."

Almost 70 RCMP officers, some masked and armed with sub-machine guns,
stormed nine residences on Pockwock Road and Lucasville Road. "As a mother,
I'm concerned about how they went about it," said one woman, who until last
Friday had never been charged with anything - not even a speeding ticket.

Her 12-year-old boy heard police smash in the front door at 6 a.m., and
immediately thought the worst.

"He thought there was a burglar in the house, and was going to jump out his
bedroom window," she said.

RCMP spokesman Const. Bruce Brophy admitted the scene would have looked
scary, but police had no choice.

"Unfortunately, it kind of looks a little gross, with the people coming in
armed, but at the same time, it went without incident," he said.

"If we'd just walked in nonchalantly, and got two or three officers killed,
would that have been news? We have to prevent that from happening."

The reasons police had for using such force are detailed in the search
warrant applications.

But those documents have been sealed from public scrutiny for one year.

In total, police recovered 40 grams of marijuana and 35 grams of crack
cocaine in the nine raids.

They also seized $29,000 in cash and six firearms, one being a sawed-off
shotgun.

Brophy called the bust a success, but wondered if some of the suspects were
tipped off before the raid - possibly by someone in the media.

"The only leak would be that we contacted you people early. And that's the
scary part, but I'm not going to say that either, because that's probably
not what happened. I don't know."

All 11 people facing charges will return to Halifax provincial court Nov.
27 to enter pleas.