EX-MAYOR CAUGHT IN DRUG ROUNDUP

Drug raids in the Kingsville-Leamington area have snared a former
Essex County mayor.

Henry DeYong, 66, is among 59 people arrested in a joint investigation
led by the OPP's Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau and Leamington
police. DeYong, a local politician for 18 years, was the mayor of the
former Gosfield South Township and ran for mayor of Kingsville after
amalgamation.

The OPP and Leamington police executed a series of co-ordinated
arrests at locations throughout Kingsville and Leamington.

Predawn raids Wednesday resulted in 46 arrests, DeYong among those
taken into custody. Another 13 arrests came Thursday, with police
saying there were 11 more arrests to come.

DeYong was back at his Heritage Road home Thursday. Reached by
telephone, he said he had yet to hire a lawyer.

"I can't talk about it until I talk to a lawyer."

Police, who seized more than 20 long guns and crossbows in their
raids, said the dealers used the hunting weapons to protect their
drugs and money. Police seized cocaine, crack cocaine, morphine pills,
oxycodone pills, marijuana and ecstasy. They also seized more than
$19,000 in cash.

The seizures and arrests came at the end of a 17-month undercover
sting operation.

There is a drug culture in Leamington and it has become worse in
recent years, believes Mayor John Adams.

"It is high here," Adams said on Thursday. "I do talk to other mayors
of other municipalities. Every area has their problem. Right now, I
would say Leamington is probably one of the worst ones in the Essex
County area."

Adams's comments come after OPP and Leamington police arrested dozens
of suspects on Wednesday as a result of a massive joint forces drug
investigation.

Forty-two Leamington residents were among those arrested.

"I, as mayor, would like to see zero tolerance on drugs in
Leamington," Adams said.

Leamington police spokesman Const. Kevin O'Neil said he's not sure how
Leamington's drug crime statistics compare to other municipalities,
but there has been a significant increase in charges over the past two
years.

He said that from January to September of this year, Leamington police
laid 44 drug-related charges. Over the same nine-month period in 2008,
they laid 27 drug-related charges.

And over the same period in 2007, police laid only 15 charges in
connection to drug offences.

O'Neil said some of that increase can be attributed to stepped-up
enforcement. He stressed that while Leamington does have a drug
culture, so does every community.

"This is not just a Leamington problem. What happened yesterday is
something every community should be concerned about."

Several of the Leamington residents arrested in the investigation are
known to police and have prior drug-related arrests and convictions.
"If you want to call them career criminals, go right ahead," O'Neil
said.

For example, in February 2002, George Sarkis of Leamington tried to
sell purported cocaine to three men who happened to be off-duty OPP
officers -- two of them working in drug enforcement.

The "drugs" turned out to be talcum powder, but Sarkis still pleaded
guilty to trafficking cocaine. At the time of sentencing, the Superior
Court Justice noted that Sarkis already had numerous prior
convictions, including drug trafficking.

Adams said he recognizes some of the names of those arrested on
Wednesday due to his involvement with the Leamington police services
board.

Asked what he thinks about Leamington's repeat drug offenders, Adams
said he has to put some blame on the court system. He said it often
seems to him that suspects are released quickly after their arrest,
"so they're back into the community."

Adams -- who is Leamington-born and raised -- said he has watched the
town change when it comes to drugs over the last quarter of a century.
Asked why things have changed, Adams said he's not sure.

"I have no idea. I mean, back when we were kids, you'd have the odd
beer and that was it. I think a lot of the drugs have sifted down from
other areas -- maybe Toronto, maybe the States."

Asked for possible solutions, Adams said he'd like to see more
education for young people on the dangers of drugs. He'd also like
Leamington to develop its own Brentwood-style rehabilitation services.

"Should there be some kind of a program in Leamington?
Definitely."

Janice Dawson, clinical director for emergency and critical care at
Leamington District Memorial Hospital, said she has not seen an
increase in patients with drug-related medical issues. But she added
that Leamington is "underserviced" when it comes to drug addiction
treatment.

"Certainly, it has been something that this area has struggled with
for the last few years," she said.

Dawson said people in Leamington with such problems are usually
treated by the hospital's partnerships in Chatham-Kent and Windsor.

In total, 59 people have been arrested and charged. Police say there
are outstanding arrest warrants for 11 more persons.