BOY, 14, DETAINED OVER DRUG DEALS

A 14-YEAR-OLD boy accused of selling heroin was questioned by police last
night over his role in a major drug importation gang.

The teenager was pictured on the front page of Monday's The Daily Telegraph
as he sold drugs in Roslyn St, Kings Cross.

The boy was yesterday questioned by detectives working from Kings Cross
police station, police sources said.

He was questioned along with a number of suspected heroin dealers during a
major undercover police operation.

Detectives were interviewing suspects at Kings Cross police station until
midnight last night. Police are expected to release further details of their
operation today.

Kings Cross police kept a high profile in Roslyn St yesterday with foot and
car patrols passing through every thirty minutes.

Beat police walked into the notorious Amsterdam Cafe twice, but emerged
shortly afterwards. Marijuana dealing from the cafe appeared to have stalled
after publicity from The Sunday Telegraph and The Daily Telegraph.

Nevertheless, users could still buy drugs yesterday within a few metres of
the cafe's front door.

Three dealers were regularly operating from a park at the corner of Roslyn
St and Ward Ave, making about 50 sales until early last night.

Cafes such as the Amsterdam have suddenly become publicity conscious shooing
drug dealers from their tables yesterday. All but the slowest dealers and
users would clear the area whenever police patrolled. The Daily Telegraph
watched officers question three people in Roslyn St during the day,
searching one man's car, but they made no arrests.

Earlier yesterday, Inspector Royce Gorman from Kings Cross said that police
were unable to comment about the open drug dealing in the Roslyn St area
because of an ongoing police operation.

It was not fair to say the police were apparently doing nothing, he said.

"The solution is not as simplistic as simply arresting everybody. It is not
a matter of just dragging people off the street there are certain procedures
you have to follow.

"You cannot just go arresting willy-nilly for supplying drugs."

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Nicholas Cowdery, said "zero tolerance"
policing in Kings Cross would only push heroin dealing into other nearby areas.

Prosecution of a drug dealer is only possible if police can prove a person
provided a prohibited drug to another person. Vague suspicions are useless,
Mr Cowdery said.

Police can not even search a person unless they have a reasonable suspicion
they have committed an offence.

Mr Cowdery said he was not surprised that drug dealing was so blatant.

"There is a lot of drug dealing because of the nature of drug addiction," he
said.

"And in my view it is impossible to eradicate it altogether. There is a huge
amount of heroin entering this country, and being used by something like
300,000 people across the nation a market has been created which operates
more or less openly, and if you crack down on the market in one area, the
market will simply move to another area."