POLICE NET 50 IN DRUG BLITZ

A 16-YEAR-old boy armed with a gun was one of about 50 suspected heroin
dealers caught in a drug crackdown in the city's west. Dozens of police in
the past three days have hit the drug hotspots of Footscray, Sunshine and St
Albans, making 54 arrests and laying 117 charges.

Cdr Bill Kelly said Operation Reform was the start of a new effort to return
the streets to residents and shopkeepers.

"This is not going to go away. Every time you put your head up after this
week we'll be there," he warned drug dealers yesterday.

Mr Kelly said almost four months of intelligence gathering and surveillance
had identified targets and looked closely at where the dealers came from and
how they travelled.

He said some of the alleged traffickers came from as far away as Queensland
and Shepparton with links to Ballarat and Horsham.

A 16-year-old Footscray boy was charged with trafficking, possessing and
using heroin, possessing an illegal weapon, possessing a handgun and
possessing the proceeds of crime.

He was one of eight teenagers arrested, with 27 people charged with heroin
trafficking and others charged for drug use and possession, weapons
offences, breaching bail and parole conditions, handling stolen goods and
traffic and vehicle offences.

Police sources said one alleged dealer, charged and bailed on the condition
he not return to the Footscray area, was arrested less than 10 minutes
later, allegedly doing another deal.

With most of those arrested remanded in custody, already overcrowded police
cells were stretched to breaking point.

More than 300 prisoners were yesterday being kept in police cells across the
state, with previously closed cells at Melton and Moonee Ponds forced to
reopen to cope with the influx.

But Mr Kelly vowed Operation Reform would continue to pursue dealers - many
of whom operate in an itinerant fashion across the region - for as long as
it took.

He said the operation differed from past drug offensives in the west because
of its intensity and sustainability.

But local shopkeepers, residents and social workers were sceptical.

"We've seen it all before," local worker Pam said of the blitz. "They (high
level drug dealers) will just recruit more (street level dealers)."

"It's about time," said another local resident. "But you know they'll all be
back by Thursday."

Uniformed police numbers at Sunshine and St Albans were slowly increased in
the weeks leading up to the blitz, with officers drawn from other stations
in Region 2, which covers all of south-western Victoria.