DRUG FIGHTERS RELAX A LITTLE AFTER MOTEL FORFEITED TO U.S.

A West Central Avenue motel with a reputation as a crack-cocaine haven is
now the property of the U.S. government.

U.S. District Court Judge LeRoy Hansen on Tuesday issued an order
instructing authorities to seize the Relax Motel at 5501 Central Ave. N.W.
in a forfeiture action.

The motel was considered the worst spot for drug dealing and other crime on
the West Side, according to Albuquerque police Capt. Paul Chavez.

"The problems there have been going on for years," said Chavez, commander
of Albuquerque Police Department's West Side Area. "My history with it goes
back to 194 when I was in Narcotics (division) the first time. It was well
known as a place for dope dealers to do their thing there until they got
caught. Hookers were always working there. It was a big hangout for Cuban
dope dealers."

Because of that, Chavez said it became a place where violent crime was a
near-nightly occurrence.

In the fall of 1998, for example, he said police raided a room at the Relax
Motel and seized more than 80 rocks of crack cocaine, found hundreds of
dollars and arrested Miguel Alayo, a 26-year-old Cuban drug dealer.

A few weeks later, Alayo was found shot in the head several blocks away --
retribution for the bust at the Relax Motel, Chavez said.

By 1995, Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Chuck Barth said the motel had
become a regular hot spot for drug trafficking, and complaints from local
residents and businesses were pouring in.

Authorities began a series of undercover operations at the motel that
resulted in federal and state prosecution of some 25 dealers. That helped
to squeeze off the stream of drugs, Barth said, but there was still a job
left undone.

"Once we got a handle on that problem, we started looking at whether the
owners knew anything about it," Barth said.

And, from the police perspective, it was clear motel owner Anverali Nagji
and his family knew what was going on, Chavez said.

Ultimately, federal prosecutors filed a civil complaint in March 1998
requesting forfeiture of the motel, alleging that Nagji and his business
partners were knowingly permitting traffickers to use the motel as a
staging area for the crack-cocaine trade.

"They knew the trafficking was going on and didn't take any steps to stop
it," Barth said.

Hansen put the finishing touch on the case Tuesday with his order after
holding a two-day trial in January. The title and interest in the property
will now be transferred to the U.S. government.

Barth said federal authorities haven't decided what they will do with the
property but have several options including selling the property or opening
it up for community use.

Whatever they decide, Chavez said he is just glad the Relax Motel is now a
page in the Central Avenue history books.

"We're glad to get it out of our hair, though there are a few other motels
trying to give the Relax a run for its money," he said.