POWERLESS

From behind a fortified gate this heroin dealer thumbs his nose at police

POLICE have identified more than 20 fortified "drug houses" in Marrickville
suspected of having been set up by dealers pressured out of suburbs such as
Cabramatta.

The formation of the drug dens comes as police intelligence suggests the
inner western suburb now has the cheapest and highest-quality heroin in
Sydney.

Marrickville, which straddles the electorates of Health Minister Andrew
Refshauge and Police Minister Paul Whelan, has already been dubbed "the new
Cabramatta" by some police and locals.

But in contrast to the street dealing in Cabramatta, dealers in
Marrickville and Dulwich Hill operate from rented homes and units heavily
secured against police raids.

Yesterday, police searched five suspected addicts outside a
recently-established drug house, then asked a young man standing behind a
steel gate for permission to enter the house.

With no warrant, they were denied.

The Daily Telegraph watched several of the houses this week as addicts all
but queued for deals through barred windows and doors, sometimes shooting
up in full view on suburban streets.

At one house, addicts bought through a rear window, then moved only a few
metres to an outdoor toilet to inject. On Wednesday, patrolling police
arrived as four people emerged from the toilet.

The evidence, by that stage scattered across the yard, made it impossible
for police to make arrests.

Marrickville police commander, Superintendent Neil Gould, yesterday
rejected the comparison to Cabramatta but concedes the new drug house
phenomenon.

"I would certainly not think we are anywhere near Cabramatta and we're
implementing a range of innovative strategies to ensure it doesn't escalate
to that level," Supt Gould said. "I would certainly have to speculate,
based on information that we've received, that there's been some
displacement here to Marrickville from other areas where there's been
heightened (police) operations.

"This is reinforced by the fact that these dealers seem to be doing
business in a smarter way as though they've benefited from seeing how
police operate, and they're using methods to alleviate detection and
subsequent arrest."

One officer quipped: "They've done their apprenticeships in Cabramatta,
they're doing their masters degree in Marrickville."

All officers have now been assigned specific drug houses to collect as much
intelligence as possible to secure search warrants.

Supt Gould said it was not clear why Marrickville had been targeted for the
drug houses, although transport links could be a factor. The source of the
heroin into Marrickville is also unknown, and detectives suspect organised
crime is behind the move into the suburb.

Supt Gould would not comment on the numbers of drugs houses in the command,
but it is understood police have identified at least 24 in the past year.

Sources said dealers sometimes pay a "cleanskin" $500 to put their name to
the lease, targeting heavily-secured premises or immediately fortifying them.

"When you go in there's no furniture inside, maybe a mattress in the
corner," one local officer said.

Robbery rates, often associated with drug abuse, have actually fallen in
the Marrickville patrol, suggesting addicts are coming from outside the
area to score.

"They're coming from everywhere, north, south, east, west, as far away as
Orange," a detective said.

Police have executed more than 40 search warrants in the past year on
premises used for drug dealing, resulting in about 50 arrests. Using the
Police Rescue Squad, they sometimes have to cut through metal grilles to
get in.

Sources said some drug dens also employed "cockatoos" - lookouts. And
typically, the drugs are washed down a toilet by the time police get in.

Supt Gould said police were now employing new tactics, in particular using
the Residential Tenancy Act to identify breaches of lease agreements. The
first success came several weeks ago when people were evicted from a drug
house in Marrickville after police gave evidence to the Residential Tenancy
Tribunal.

Supt Gould is also directing Highway Patrol officers to target streets
around drug houses in search of stolen cars used by addicts to get to the
dens.

Police are considering using their powers to take motorists suspected of
being affected by drugs to hospital for blood tests. Transit police have
also been directed to focus on Marrickville, Dulwich Hill and Sydenham
stations.

Legislation dealing with disorderly houses is of little use. Police must
put evidence before a court to have a premises declared disorderly, but the
dealers then set up elsewhere.

Addicts "shaken down" by police patrols have told officers they can score
for as little as $10 a "cap" or hit. Other officers believe the going
street price is $20 to $25, while Marrickville crime manager, Inspector
Arthur Katsogiannis said it was about $50.

Talk of cheap and high-quality heroin has left police concerned that
dealers may be trying to cement a market in the area.

"You could ask anyone out here, the quality and the price are the best in
Sydney," one officer said.

Asked if Marrickville was becoming the next Cabramatta, he said: "It
already is."

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski