24 ARRESTED IN EAST P.A. IN SWEEP OF DRUG HOT SPOTS

Police have arrested 24 people in East Palo Alto suspected of selling
drugs ranging from heroin to methamphetamine in a four-month project
focused on street-level drug trafficking.

The San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force said Thursday that agents
from law enforcement agencies around the South Bay helped crack down
on the drug sales at traditional East Palo Alto hot spots such as the
apartments at 2000 Cooley Ave. and the 2100 block of University
Avenue. Those arrested included nine juveniles.

Agents seized relatively small amounts of drugs in the sweep. The task
force takes about 15,000 grams of methamphetamine off the county's
streets annually. This operation netted only 212 grams of the highly
addictive drug, made from over-the-counter cold medicines and
poisonous additives such as battery acid and lye.

But task force commander Lt. Don O'Keefe said police hope that
removing street-level dealers will help the neighborhood.

``I think it's important that people see something happening around
them,'' O'Keefe said. ``People take a little more ownership in the
community . . . and hopefully, they will keep calling us.

San Mateo County just authorized more funding to step up sheriff's
efforts to combat lesser street-level crimes that police said don't
get the attention they deserve. Much of the more violent crime in East
Palo Alto and other places is linked to the drug trade, police say.

O'Keefe acknowledged that such sweeps rarely eliminate the drug
problem. But he said such efforts can reinforce other positive
developments in the community, such as education initiatives and
economic growth, that together can reduce the demand for narcotics.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry