DRUG STING PUTS BRAKES ON 36 DIAL-A-DOPERS

Police Hope Seized Cash, Cocaine, Vehicles Will Slow Attraction Of
Street-Level Dealing

Police charged 36 dial-a-dopers with trafficking and possession in a
recent 10-day sting, the second widespread bust of street-level
dealers in Edmonton this year.

The undercover Project Geld II led to the seizure of $144,000 worth of
goods connected to the cocaine trade, including seven vehicles and
$13,000 in cash. More than$17,000 worth of cocaine was seized.

The youngest dealer charged was 17, the oldest was 44. Only three of
the 36 charged were women. In all, more than 120 charges were laid.

A dial-a-doper is a street-level member of a drug organization, the
one who takes calls from customers then drives to a location to make
the exchange.

"These are the people who are in our community selling drugs to our
people, our citizens and our children in front of our schools, our
shopping centres and our streets," said Acting Insp. Greg Preston.

The sting, which began in late October, included members of the
Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement Team, patrol officers, and the
Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team's Drug Undercover street team,
which includes RCMP officers.

After obtaining a phone number within the drug system, an undercover
officer would call and wait for a dealer to show up. Officers made
arrests and seizures immediately after the buys.

Preston admits that such stings will not shut down the drug trade, and
street-level dealers can almost always be replaced. However, by
seizing cash, drugs and vehicles police are trying to make it
financially difficult to replace them, he said, and are trying to take
the shine off a well-paying job that attracts too many young people.

"If you're a young person, I can see, with the economy the way it is,
the allure of the quick dollar," Preston said. "That's usually what
gets people into it. However, if you start getting into the
consequences of it, you will be charged criminally, and quite often
this carries jail time."

The first Project Geld saw charges laid against 51 people in March.

At the time, Preston said police were making a renewed effort to
target street-level dealers after focusing all their investigations on
the higher levels of organizations. Police are now trying to target
all levels of the drug trade, Preston said, including the youngest and
least experienced members.

"Without them, there would be no upper echelon," he said. "These are
the people that make the money, and it filters up the chain."

Investigators were happy to find no repeat offenders in the recent
sting, but disappointed to see that many from the first had been
replaced by younger dealers.

Proceeds from the seizures will go to support victims of crime.