FAMILY TRIES TO AVOID DEALERS

"Hey, wanna buy some rock?"

That's the blunt sales pitch more and more SkyTrain travellers and
Metrotown shoppers are hearing.

"Rock" is street slang for crack cocaine and the Burnaby SkyTrain
station has become a magnet for dealers.

The problem has become so acute that residents and business owners
attended a meeting last night to try to find solutions.

"We don't normally come this way because this is going on here," said
Kevin Richards, a furniture mover who lives nearby with his wife
Colleen and their six-year-old son Brandon. "They're right in your
face. They don't leave you alone until you get rude with them."

"We definitely would like to see it stopped," added Colleen. "They
don't have any problem asking you, even if you have children with you."

SkyTrain police are powerless because they can't enforce the drug
laws. Mick Stankovich, who owns and operates a nearby pizza shop,
said the drug activity increased near the station about five months
ago but he's sure if the dealers have affected his business.

"I really feel for the cops, because these guys are out just as fast
as the paperwork gets done," said Stankovich, who's run the business
for eight years. "The immigration laws have to be changed. If you're
caught [dealing drugs] you should be out of here."

The drug-dealing has increased in recent months after crackdowns in at
SkyTrain stations in New Westminster and Vancouver's Broadway Station
shifted the activity to Burnaby. It has reached the point where many
elderly residents are fearful of walking near the station at night.

"It's like putting your hand into a pot of water," said Burnaby RCMP
Sgt. Derek Cooke. "You displace the water, but as soon as you remove
your hand the water comes right back. If we arrest a group of
suspects, their cohorts would be back at in within minutes.

"It's a problem we've been aware of and have focussed substantial
resources to, but we can't be there 24 hours a day. That's the purpose
of this meeting. This isn't strictly a police enforcement problem. We
need input from the people being affected by it."

Another concern is the proximity of an elementary school -- Maywood
Community school -- just a block from the station.

"The effect of this activity isn't limited just to the school closest
to the SkyTrain either," said Burnaby school district spokesman David
Wiebe. "Metrotown is a hub for a lot of young people in Burnaby. A
lot of our kids have reason to be in and around the SkyTrain station
and I think at times there's an atmosphere of intimidation and fear
there."

PEDDLERS' PARADISE

The Metrotown SkyTrain Station has been a hotbed for crack cocaine in
recent years.

- - 21 people were arrested Thursday and Friday night for drug
dealing.

- - In June, police arrested 45 alleged dealers after a six-week
investigation.

- - Before a major police swoop in August 1998, an estimated 200 dealers
operated out of a 14-unit building near Metrotown, literally doing
drug deals out of open windows.