CRACK: COPS STRIKE BACK

While judges battle addiction in court, cops are waging their own
wars on the street.

Behind a small mound of hundreds of tiny rocks and thousands in cash
seized last week, Sgt. Mark Hatchette said the war on crack has
reached a turning point in District 4, an area where drugs, primarily
cocaine and crack, are considered the number two problem - second
only to the social disorder that plagues the 17 Ave. S.E. corridor in
Forest Lawn.

Even there, with its prostitution, petty crimes and violence, the
number one underlying commonality is cocaine and crack. "What we see
in our district is basically all social disorder comes back to drugs,
and that's everything from commercial robberies, bank robberies to
thefts of vehicles, theft from vehicles, break-ins - both residential
and shop - and then vandalism, vagrancy, loitering . all of that
stuff is directly related to drugs," Hatchette said.

To cure the plague, detectives have launched what's called a rapid
intervention model for speedier investigations aimed at nabbing
dealers fast and hard.

The mound of crack, consisting of individual nuggets wrapped in
plastic and bagged and tagged with its weight, was taken from two
dealers operating out of the northeast that supplied street level
pushers and addicts across most quadrants of the city.

This new model of detective work, which combines forces with Alberta
Sheriff's Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit, allows
police to quickly identify potential dealers and, using "covert
techniques," locate stash spots before descending with search warrants.

The tactics seem to be working. In 2009, Calgary police laid 1,311
trafficking charges, an increase of 553 drug charges over the
previous year and more than every year since and including 2005.

The mound of crack and cash Hatchette looks over, more than a
half-pound in rock, $12,000 in all denominations and several weapons,
took less than two days to seize from start to finish.

Two brothers, The-Hai Ta, 22, and Phi-Long Ta, 24, face a slew of
drug and property-related charges.

Together with Alberta's new seizure laws, which allows the province
to seize and sell cars and homes from drug dealers, Hatchette said
alleged dial-a-dopers like these two now face the added penalty of
losing their homes and cars. For Hatchette, that's two down,
countless more to go. "There is a lot them out there and we're coming
for everybody."