EIGHT ARRESTED; TIES TO RED SCORPIONS

A two-day crackdown in Abbotsford's downtown core has resulted in the
arrests of seven males and one female with ties to the Red Scorpions.

Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald said more arrests are expected
in the coming days.

Beat and bike squads spent Wednesday and Thursday targeting drug lines
and dealers - mainly involved in dial-a-dope operations - downtown and
in the areas near Ravine Park and Abbotsford Collegiate.

Seized were quantities of crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana, as well
as cash, cellphones and knives. MacDonald said the exact amounts were
still being determined as of this morning.

Police are not yet releasing names of those arrested, but they were
mainly in their late teens to early 20s. The oldest was 61.

MacDonald said the majority had links that clearly trace back to the
Red Scorpions, dispelling the myth that street-level drugs are sold by
"mom and pop" operations.

"If you're buying drugs, you're buying from organized crime," he
said.

Some of the arrested were still in high school or of high school age,
and many of the drug deals took place on or near school grounds.

"Drugs are being sold in high school, so who has to sell it to them?"
MacDonald said. "There's a myth that there's a guy in a trench coat
selling drugs outside of the high school, but that's not the case."

He said the fact that a female was among those arrested shows that
gangs have stepped up their efforts in finding their "foot soldiers."

"It's not always easy to be a Red Scorpion or a United Gang member, so
they have to actively work to recruit."

MacDonald said it's difficult to determine how much of an impact
recent arrests of gang members are having on the groups' operations.

"What we (police) are hoping to do is be disruptive ... and, in
essence, continue our messaging - that if you're going to be a
gangster in Abbotsford, we're going to make your life miserable."

MacDonald said information garnered from these arrests is being used
in future investigations and projects.

"The advantage for us is ... we can follow the food chain (of the
gangs)," he said.