MORE COPS MOVE IN AFTER DRUG SWEEP

120 Arrested In Troubled Neighborhoods

The vacuum left by a five-week drug sweep in the city's west end will
be filled by uniformed officers, not entrepreneurial drug dealers
looking to make a buck, police said yesterday.

Come Monday, dozens of officers will be stepping in to fill the shoes
left by 120 people arrested over the last five weeks in the troubled
neighbourhoods of Jane-Finch in 31 Division and Keele-Eglinton in 12
Division.

A city-wide statistical analysis earlier this year identified the two
neighbourhoods as the most in need of additional officers, courtesy of
the Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy (TAVIS), during the
summer months.

There have been three homicides -- including two fatal shootings -- in
31 Division and eight homicides -- including six fatal shootings -- in
12 Division so far this year. Those numbers account for more than half
of the murders in all of Toronto.

In rolling out the welcome mat for the 43 officers in Jane-Finch and
32 officers in Keele-Eglinton who will be walking and biking the beat
for the next 15 weeks, the drug squad did some spring cleaning.

Cleaned out were 12 crack houses and 16 marijuana grow operations.
Four children were taken by Children's Aid officials from the
grow-ops, drug squad Staff-Insp. Mario Di Tommaso said at 31 Division
yesterday.

"This is an incredibly big deal," Di Tommaso said. "These arrests will
have a significant impact on the availability of drugs in these two
communities."

While the operation, dubbed Project Spring Clean, started May 11, most
of the 38 search warrants were carried out this week, Di Tommaso said.

Many of the 411 charges laid were related to drug trafficking, making
bail compliance checks a top order of business for TAVIS officers
moving in to fill the vacuum, Di Tommaso said.

Of the 120 people arrested -- male and female, 14 to 71 years old --
30 were on bail, 23 were on probation and 40 had court-imposed firearm
prohibitions.

"That is very frustrating for us simply because we're encountering the
same individuals time and time and time again," Di Tommaso said. "One
individual had 57 criminal convictions. And I'd like to say there is a
point in time when society ought not to be dealing with this
individual any longer."

No guns were seized during the raids, Di Tommaso said.

PROJECT SPRING CLEAN SEIZURES

- - Cocaine: 1,457.51 grams
- - Crack cocaine: 95.80 grams
- - Heroin: 101.47 grams
- - Ecstasy: 385.63 grams
- - Marijuana: 2,255.53 grams
- - Cars: four
- - Cash: $24,190