HOTELS 'MASK' DRUG DEALS

Sellers Can Avoid Detection, Police Say

Gives Them High-Roller Credibility

When large-scale drug dealers want to move product, it's not uncommon
for them to do it in a luxury hotel under the noses of staff and
other guests, police said yesterday in the wake of a shooting during
an apparent drug rip-off at the Westin Harbour Castle.

Following the Monday night shooting, police seized four kilograms of
cocaine which, if sold intact, could generate $200,000, but three
times that amount if they "grammed it out" for street sale, said Det.
Sgt. Larry Cowley of the Toronto police drug squad.

The coke was stashed in the "ice room" on the 28th floor of the
hotel, police say.

Three people, including the wounded man and two associates, were
charged yesterday with drug offences. The gunman and firearm have not
been located. "We don't know who they are," Cowley said.

According to police, shortly after 9 p.m. a 36-year-old man was shot
three times in the hallway of the hotel's 28th floor. The victim was
discovered moments later in an elevator which stopped on the 16th
floor of the waterfront hotel, located on Queens Quay near Yonge St.

He was taken to St. Michael's Hospital where he was treated for a
bullet wound in the stomach and two in the thigh. He is expected to recover.

Police allege the scenario that unfolded was this: A man with four
kilos of cocaine to sell arranged to meet a potential client. The
"money" guy showed up without the cash needed to buy the drugs and he
tried to rip off the dealer. "That's our theory," said Cowley.

Hotel guests checking out yesterday morning knew there had been some
sort of emergency Monday night but didn't know what had happened.

The night before, several P.A. announcements had warned of an
"emergency" and told guests to stay in their rooms.

"I thought it was a fire," said Angela Blanton, of Dallas, Texas, who
said she heard at least three announcements. She peeked into the
hallway on the 32nd floor and saw nothing. She also tried to phone
the front desk, but nobody was answering.

She became worried for her boyfriend and their 3-year-old daughter.

Blanton said there was no "all clear" given by the hotel, so guests
were left to wonder what was happening.

"When I woke up this morning, I said to myself, 'Well, we made it.'"

While it may seem like an odd place for a drug deal, Cowley said a
luxury hotel setting creates the appearance of a legitimate business
transaction.

"It's a way of camouflaging themselves, really. Instead of doing the
deal in the middle of crack city in downtown or a bad housing area,
they do it in an upscale hotel."

Besides, police officers, who may keep an eye "on low-end motels,
crack hotels ... don't often go to these (luxury) hotels and check
out who's hanging around."

Dope peddlers -- and buyers -- also like to come across as "high
rollers" who are trying to establish their reputation and credibility.

A luxury hotel "also gives them protection, so they don't have to do
it at their own residence so the person they're dealing with doesn't
know where the other person lives."

It's also a way to avoid being in a room that's bugged, or using
phones that are wiretapped.

David Ogilvie, Harbour Castle's general manager, said "The hotel is
back to normal operations."

"The hotel is totally safe and this could have happened anywhere."

The Harbour Castle has 24-hour security on staff and cameras
throughout the building.

Outside the hotel yesterday morning, guests were in good spirits and
even joking about the incident.

"I had just been saying how safe Toronto is," said one man who was
here with his family from Rochester. "When I saw the commotion, I
thought, 'Oh, my God.'" He laughed as he recounted the feeling.

"This wouldn't surprise me if it happened in Dallas," Blanton said of
her hometown. "But I heard Toronto was safe."

Sean Erez, 36, of Quebec, who was the shooting victim, Nataly Abitan,
27, of Quebec, and Evgene Starchik, 22, of British Columbia, are all
charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and
possession of cocaine. Their court appearances are scheduled for this morning.