RECORD CRACK BUST A 'WAKE-UP CALL', POLICE SAY

A "landmark" seizure of crack cocaine has reaffirmed its dubious
distinction as the drug of choice in Orillia and beyond.

"This should be a wake-up call to our community," Det. Insp. Frank
Elbers, of the OPP Drug Enforcement Section said late last week.

Assembled on a conference room table were multiple see-through
baggies brimming with large nuggets of the highly addictive drug,
along with an assortment of digital scales, butterfly knives and more
than $5,000 in cash.

An April 6 raid on a Colborne Street apartment had netted close to
two-and-half pounds of crack cocaine worth roughly $130,000 - the
largest crack seizure ever by the OPP.

"This is a landmark," said local detachment Insp. Jim Szarka.

Investigators also found 12 ounces of powdered cocaine and a small
quantity of marijuana.

A 32-year-old Mississauga man was arrested and charged with
possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of marijuana
and possession of a prohibited weapon.

Police believe the suspect was supplying the drug to a vast region
that included Orillia, Midland, Bracebridge, and Huntsville.

"This distributor is one of the largest in the community, for
certain," said Det. Sgt. James Ciotka, commander of the Huronia
Combined Forces Drug Unit.

Crack is a smokable form of cocaine that results from burning off the
impurities found in powdered coke, in turn yielding a more potent product.

"When you smoke it, you are getting a very high quality of cocaine,
so it is very addictive," Ciotka told Orillia Today.

Divvied up in smaller quantities and packaged for sale, the yellowish
chunks seized last week would have produced more than 8,500 individual sales.

"There is enough crack there for a quarter of the population in this
town," Elbers added.

"This would have major effects on the area. Obviously, crack cocaine
is the drug of choice here."

Police typically seize a half-ounce to an ounce of crack, said
Elbers, a veteran drug enforcement officer who admitted shock over
the quantity discovered inside the apartment.

"It is a phenomenal amount," he added.

Those gathered in the upper boardroom at the local OPP detachment
spoke of the far-reaching impacts cocaine has on the community,
saying many users are turning to crime to raise the $150 or more a
day required to feed the destructive habit.

"I've seen accountants, I've seen teachers," Ciotka added. "It is not
just the low-income community."

Police believe the rising availability of crack cocaine on this side
of the border is directly linked to the demand for high-quality
Canadian pot in the U.S., where penalties for growing and selling
marijuana are considerably stiffer and can include life sentences.

Texan drug dealers, for example, will eagerly trade a kilogram of
cocaine for three pounds of Ontario-grown marijuana, the dried bud
capable of fetching top dollar in the Lone Star state.