RESIDENTS RILED BY PUSHERS

More than 500 people packed a gymnasium at Burnaby's Maywood elementary
school last night to voice disgust at a growing drug problem in their
neighbourhood.

The angry residents said the nearby Metrotown SkyTrain station has become a
haven for Honduran drug pushers.

"Somebody has to change the laws," said an elderly woman who refused to be
identified. "If someone is standing in front of me selling drugs, and the
police say there's nothing they can do about it, then there's something
really, really wrong.

"I've been approached three times in the last week. They come up and say,
'Coke? Coke?' "

Coun. Doug Evans, chairman of Burnaby's community policing committee,
admitted there's a huge problem outside the station.

He said drug dealers "are poisoning the young people in our neighbourhood."

Staff-Sgt. Elton Deans of Burnaby RCMP said that at any one time there were
from 45 to 100 sellers operating in the vicinity of the station.

He said police had arrested 17 suspects in the past two days in an ongoing
investigation.

"We have to have them charged and convicted of crimes to have them (the
Hondurans) deported," said Deans.

Rob Johnston of Immigration Canada said the department is in the process of
training 14 officers to combat "foreign criminals," many of whom use
Metrotown to peddle crack cocaine.

Many of the residents told the town-hall meeting they are too afraid to use
SkyTrain because of the dealers.

Ray Brouillette, of Buena Vista apartments, said he was "forever having to
chase dealers away.

"We've had people call us [to rent apartments] and as soon as we tell them
the building is by Metrotown they want nothing to do with us."