DEALERS, USERS HIDDEN

Once the laughing stock of police departments, dial-a-dope operations
have come a long way since their primitive incarnations in the '80s.

Selling drugs by phone used to be an easy collar for cops, who would
simply trace the number. But with the emergence of cellphones, the
only people laughing now are the dealers.

"When it started we used to joke 'if your heroin isn't delivered in
half an hour, it's free'," said Det. Jim Fisher, a 19-year veteran of
the Vancouver police drug squad. "Now it's the most prevalent way of
selling drugs in the Lower Mainland, by far."

Dial-a-dope networks now offer criminals a chance to make millions
without ever showing their faces.

"People have no idea how expansive it is," said Malachi, a former
dial-a-doper using an alias to protect his identity. "In Vancouver,
it's kind of like the retarded brother that people lock up when
company is over. You can't see him, but he's still there screaming
and yelling."

Using untraceable cellphones and rented cars to deliver drugs has
made the city's drug trade more accessible to buyers, and more
lucrative for sellers.

"It's the fastest way to deliver the product and made it easier for
people in the suburbs to buy," said Fisher. "It allows both sides not
to expose themselves to us."

As far as the drug underworld goes, it's the perfect way to conduct business.