CITY POLICE HUNT 70 IN HUGE DRUG CRACKDOWN

In one of the largest operations in Vancouver's history, police have already
arrested 24 suspected traffickers, many of them Hondurans.

Vancouver police began rounding up about 70 suspected drug dealers
Wednesday -- many Honduran nationals -- in one of the largest mass arrests
in the city's history.

Inspector Gary Greer, who oversees police operations in the Downtown
Eastside, said the arrests will probably keep the dealers hiding for a few
days, but won't ultimately solve the larger drug problem.

``I don't believe that this roundup will significantly impact the
availability of drugs,'' he said. ``That's just how big the problem is.''

But he said community complaints about drug dealing in the Downtown Eastside
have become so frequent that police thought they had to do something.

``We want to demonstrate that we are doing as much as we can within the
legal limitations we have and with the resources we have.''

Wednesday's round-up was the conclusion of a two-week police operation
called Project Scoop, which targeted street-level crack dealers in the
Downtown Eastside.

At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, police displayed a wall of
photographs of wanted suspects.

By early evening, police reported having 24 suspects in custody with 35
officers working in ``arrest teams'' across the city. Police estimate 50 of
the 70 suspects are recent immigrants, most Hondurans.

Rob Johnston, Vancouver's immigration enforcement manager, said about six of
the suspects already have outstanding immigration warrants, some for
immediate deportation.

But it could be a long time before the rest are removed from the country.
Those claiming refugee status are entitled to a refugee hearing unless the
immigration department can prove the claimant is a danger to the public. If
so, they can be removed immediately.

But that can't happen until the person is found guilty of a crime, and it
could take a year or more for drug charges laid now to work their way
through the courts.

Even then, the crime must be considered serious. If the dealers are only
given a slap on the wrist -- such as a fine or probation -- it may not be
enough to stop their refugee claim from being heard.

While many Hondurans have applied for refugee status in the last few years,
few have been successful.

From April 1997 to March 1998, 52 Hondurans applied for refugee status in
B.C. Of those, only three were considered refugees -- less than six per
cent. The average success rate for refugee claimants is 27 per cent.

The immigration department has been working with police to help identify
some of the suspects, and three immigration officers accompanied arrest
teams Wednesday.

But Johnston stressed that ``what we are dealing with here is a criminal
problem, not a Honduran problem'' and Vancouver's Hispanic community should
not be tarred by the actions of a few criminals.

The Honduran government recently asked its embassy in Canada to report back
about the problem, and the Honduran ambassador to Canada has arranged a
meeting with immigration officials in Vancouver.

Greer said Wednesday's mass arrest marks a new direction in the city's fight
against drugs. In the past, police have focused mainly on mid-level
traffickers, rather than the bottom rung.

But a police department reorganization last June put drug units in every
district to fight street-level dealers. And while police in the city make a
handful of drug arrests every day, this is the first mass arrest in at least
four years, he said -- and dealers can expect more.

Greer said Vancouver's drug problem is beyond the police department's
resources. Public policy makers have to do something to reduce demand for
drugs with larger-scale solutions such as detox centres, he said.

Project Scoop was limited to two weeks because of a lack of resources -- not
a lack of dealers, Greer said.

There are so many people selling drugs in the east side, the investigation
could have gone on much longer. ``Even a few more [officers] could have
doubled or tripled the arrests we had today,'' Greer said.

One of the limitations on police is that undercover operations use a lot of
staff. For each undercover officer posing as a drug buyer, police need six
to 10 backup officers to ensure the officer's safety and to track the
suspect after the deal.

Vancouver police said they are working with Burnaby RCMP and New Westminster
police to coordinate their assault on the drug trade.

For example, as a condition of their release, suspected dealers are often
forbidden to enter known drug areas like the Downtown Eastside while they
await trial.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst