DRUG SUSPECTS HOME IN TIME FOR SUPPER

Morning Bust Nets Nine; All Released

Dragged from bed by police before breakfast yesterday, nine suspects
in an early morning Hammonds Plains drug bust were released from court
before supper.

Not one of the six men and three women arrested during the raid on
nine homes in the Tantallon and Lower Sackville RCMP catchment areas
was detained on their charges.

Some were released on conditions; others simply walked away from the
Spring Garden Road courthouse on a promise to return when ordered.

Police were obviously frustrated by the court's decision to release
the suspects, who, just 10 hours earlier, had been taken down at
gunpoint. But the officers recognize their hands are tied.

"I take my paycheque every two weeks. I'm used to it," said Tantallon
RCMP spokesman Const. Bruce Brophy. "Nothing surprises me."

Eight Months In Making

The arrest was eight months in the making, and the Mounties obviously
wanted the public to know they've been listening to their concerns.

Every media outlet in the city was invited to this take-down. And
while civic addresses weren't released, street names of the targeted
residences were given to journalists shortly after the homes were invaded.

"We've been getting complaints for quite a while now in reference to
drugs getting into the schools, and into the hands of younger
children," Brophy said. "Today, we were answering the community's
complaints."

But some felt the police presence yesterday morning was
extreme.

`Little War Zone'

"I was on my way to work and I called in sick because I couldn't even
believe what I saw this morning. It's just like a little war zone out
here. Crazy," said one motorist who slowly drove up and down Pockwock
Road most of the morning.

"Things is kind of funny up here," he said. "These cops bugging these
good guys. Man. Go find some real crime. That's all I have to say," he
said, admitting some of those rounded up in the raid were friends.

While police targeted several properties in the bust, they spent a
great deal of time focused on a two-level home at 604 Pockwock Road.

A yellow Corvette sports car was seized from a converted barn behind
the home. A sign above the barn door read: Corvette Parking Only.