DRUG CRIMINALS ON THE MOVE

OLIVER -- Police say when tactical teams raided three Oliver-area
homes in the early morning hours yesterday they found a significant
quantity of drugs that may have been destined for Penticton streets.

Five people were arrested and more arrests are expected in connection
with the raids which police allege indicate as RCMP crack down on
drugs in Penticton, dealers are spreading out to rural areas.

"The Penticton drug task force has known for some time their efforts
in Penticton may result in criminals and drug traffickers having moved
down here," said Penticton RCMP media liaison Cpl. Rick Dellebuur.

The raids on three homes -- one on 384th Avenue otherwise known as
Sportsmens Bowl Road, one in Oliver near the intersection of 76th
Street and 371st Avenue, and one on No. 20 Road between Oliver and
Osoyoos -- involved 25 RCMP officers from both the Penticton and
Oliver detachments as well as members of the District Emergency
Response Team.

The joint operation saw three females and two males, all Oliver
residents and ranging in age from 28 to 40 years, arrested and in
custody awaiting drug trafficking, possession of stolen property and
firearms charges. The two males and one of the females are not
Canadian citizens and Dellebuur said Citizenship and Immigration
Canada has been advised.

But while the raid on the three homes occurred at the same time,
police say it is too early in their investigation to indicate the
three residences were connected.

"We wanted to target a number of individuals with this operation,"
said Dellebuur, explaining why the three homes were raided at the same
time, adding "as there is pressure on one, the others certainly
realize it."

Police were unable to estimate the amount of cocaine seized but did
say they believed the cocaine being sold was in the ounce range.

"There was a substantial amount of cocaine seized and a large amount
of money in the tens of thousands range in particular at one
residence," said Oliver detachment commander Sgt. Kevin Schur. While
the money was concealed, "it was not hidden very well."

Firearms seized included prohibited and restricted weapons -- believed
to have been stolen -- which police allege may have used as payment
for drug purchases.

Schur said the home at on 384th Avenue was owned by the residents
while the other two homes were rented. None of the three homes had
been converted into marijuana growing operations.

The raid was the culmination of a two-month investigation utilizing
police resources from both detachments, and the searches of the homes
and the arrests occurred without incident, said Dellebuur.

There were two dogs present at one of the homes, said police, but no
children present when the arrests were made.

"What's Penticton's problem becomes an Oliver-Osoyoos problem," said
Dellebuur. "There are people down here affecting the quality of life
in Penticton and vice versa."

Dellebuur likened the situation to having vehicles stolen from
Penticton residences recovered in the Oliver area.