SHERIFF'S DRUG UNIT IS SPECIAL BREED

DURHAM -- Before the third and last leg of a recent 12-hour shift,
detectives from the Durham Sheriff's Anti-Crime Narcotics Unit
congregate in their headquarters in one of the less-glossy pockets of
Northgate Mall.

A bulletin board -- cluttered by photographs of seizures from the
biggest busts of the past two years -- hangs just beyond the office
meeting room.

The pictures show detectives standing next to large bricks of
marijuana, fuzzy digital shots of snowy bags of white powder, and
collections of high-powered illegal guns fanned out on conference tables.

In the meeting room, four detectives finish the tedious process of
bagging and labeling drugs and weapons as evidence.

Conversation jumps from topic to topic like a scanner hopping
channels. There's congratulatory back-slapping, then reminiscing
about past cases, followed by straight-faced discussions about the
spike in weapons seizures and the growing street buzz about gangs.

The unit's leader is Lt. Derek O'Mary, who took over the 10-man squad
two years ago. During his tenure, the squad reportedly has seen a 600
percent increase in drugs seized.

O'Mary expects 2006 will be a banner year, and gives credit to his men.

"This unit, as small as it is, is having an impact," he said. "We
hear about it from people on the streets. They're changing the way
they do business because the word's out."

Every man in the unit, O'Mary says with obvious pride, has been
trained in technical surveillance, woods surveillance, interrogation,
and special weapons and tactics. The training allows them to handle
both investigations and actual arrests.

That sets them apart, he said, from many other similar units.

"You look at these guys and they look very ragtag, but I'm telling
you they know what they're doing. It's comforting to work in the
company of these folks," O'Mary said.

After taking the handguns and marijuana confiscated earlier in the
day to the courthouse, the team stopped for a 15-minute dinner.

Gathered around a table at a relatively empty sub shop, the
detectives downed hot sandwiches and playfully argued about what
neighborhood "hot spots" they were going to focus on for the rest of the shift.

Two hours after dinner, O'Mary parked himself near an alley he knew
to be a meeting place for drug deals. His unmarked patrol car idled
next to a storm sewer brimming with trash.

He got out and did a slow walk around the edge of the area, stopping
to talk with residents and the occasional pedestrian ambling down the
dark, empty street.

O'Mary said one of the things he likes most about the unit was the
wide variety of work the men did in a single shift. The detectives
could spend hours staking out a single parking lot, or spend the
night patrolling known drug areas and making arrests the unit refers
to as "takedowns."

O'Mary joined the Sheriff's Office after four years in the Air Force.
In two years, he rose to the rank of investigator. He has spent 11
out of 16 of his years in law enforcement in drug investigations, and
can rattle off drug street names and gang symbols as easily as he can
recite the alphabet.

O'Mary said the drug problem in Durham was like a "dam that springs a
leak -- you plug it with a finger and soon you're running out of
fingers and toes."

Less than a decade after the city seemed reluctant to admit to a gang
problem, O'Mary and his men have seen record numbers of weapon
seizures, as well as drug busts ranging from marijuana and cocaine to heroin.

On Jan. 6, a stakeout in the 600 block Belt St. resulted in the
recovery of 1.76 ounces of heroin. The estimated street value: $25,000.

Foot chases, flashing lights and police "10" codes notwithstanding,
O'Mary pointed to a big difference between daily life in his unit and
what the general public sees on television cop shows.

After searching a vehicle for evidence of crack cocaine, the
detectives shook hands with the people and tell them to stay safe.

After a similar, almost strangely polite interaction, a man O'Mary's
unit just searched said he didn't have enough gas in his car. O'Mary
reached into is wallet, handed the man a few $1 bills and told him to
"stay warm."

"This is why [my men] are so successful," O'Mary said. "You don't
have to be a jerk to people."

Still, O'Mary keeps a predatory instinct.

"It's a cat-and-mouse game," he said. "If we don't catch 'em this
time, we'll get 'em next time."