DRUG HOT SPOTS TARGETED

Over the next few weeks, police will step up patrols at six key city
intersections in a bid to keep recently busted drug dealers from
getting back to business.

Police also plan to conduct more "compliance checks" to make sure 72
people, allegedly street-level dealers arrested on drug charges since
September, are abiding by their bail conditions.

"We bring people to court but once they get out they're committing
crimes again," Det. Sgt. Robert Johnson said yesterday.

"That's what's so frustrating for us."

Undercover and uniformed officers laid more than 280 drug-related
charges during Stop All Illegal Narcotic Trafficking, or SAINT, a
nine-week endeavour to clean up areas of 14 Division, a western swath
of the city notorious for drug dealing.

They targeted Lansdowne Ave. at Bloor St. and Queen St. W.; Queen and
Bathurst Sts.; King St. at Strachan Ave. and Dufferin St.; and Bloor
St. and Ossington Ave.

But during the project police found themselves rearresting many of the
same alleged perpetrators who had quickly made their way through the
justice system and ended up with bail. Seven adults and one young
offender were among those charged twice.

Here's SAINT by the numbers:

a.. 17 search warrants - 15 homes, 2 bars b.. 24 undercover police
officers c.. 280 narcotics offences d.. 16 to 63 years are the ages of
those arrested e.. 72 people charged f.. Each had an average of 12
previous convictions g.. 22 of those arrested were out of prison on
bail h.. 14 of those individuals were also on probation 7 adults and 1
young offender were charged twice Here's what was seized:

a.. 14 kilograms of marijuana b.. 9 litres of the date rape drug GHB
c.. 2.5 kilograms of hash d.. 1.2 kilograms of cocaine e.. 111 grams
of heroin f.. $90,000 in proceeds of crime g.. $ 748,735 in cash