ALLENTOWN POLICE TOUT SUCCESS IN WAR ON DRUGS

Summertime arrests in the city netted more than 200 drug dealers and their
wares and weapons.

Displaying 15 guns, a bulletproof vest and bags of marijuana, heroin
and cocaine seized by vice and intelligence officers, Allentown
authorities on Tuesday showed off what they did over the summer.

They arrested more than 200 higher- and lower-level drug dealers at
143 locations -- mostly downtown -- in the four months that ended Sept. 1.

Many of the 208 arrests have already been reported, but officials
wanted to highlight the considerable time and resources that have been
spent trying to crack down on Allentown's drug trafficking.

Standing in front of a pair of city maps, one showing where the
arrests happened and the other showing the 20 operations involving the
Emergency Response Team, Mayor Ed Pawlowski vowed, ''We will not rest
until we completely cripple the illegal drug trade in the city.''

The announcement of the summertime busts came a week after state
Attorney General Tom Corbett announced the takedown of a $5
million-a-year drug ring that had ties to the Bloods gang and operated
mainly out of a city barbershop. That crackdown was not included in
the summertime statistics provided by Allentown officials.

Figures and statistics for the summertime busts were presented in
general terms, and that was by design. Officials said specifics were
not provided because most of the cases are still in the courts.

Still, Pawlowski said he wanted people to know that vice and special
operations were busy over the summer.

''We are taking a lot of drugs, a lot of cash and disrupting a lot of
operations,'' Pawlowski said. ''We are doing what we can to stop this
trade.''

The city recently installed several surveillance cameras along
Hamilton Street and plans to add more throughout the city. It also has
began using a local Spanish-language radio station to get the word out
about reporting crime or suspicious activity.

Lt. George Medero of the Vice and Intelligence Division and the head
of the gang unit, said a lot of the city's drug problems are
associated with gangs. The dealers, he said, are getting younger and
are more likely to carry a weapon. He said all the guns police
recovered over the summer were loaded, including one with a 30-round
clip.

''Wherever you have gangs, you'll have drugs,'' he
said.

Police Chief Roger MacLean said his officers in the summer seized 400
grams of heroin, almost 800 grams of cocaine and 400 grams of
marijuana, with a total street value of $200,000. Officers also seized
$73,000 and 15 guns, including two sawed-off shotguns, a rifle and a
weapon similar to a TEC-9, a gun made famous by the Columbine High
School massacre.

MacLean said he only started taking statistics at the beginning of the
year and did not have last year's summer totals readily available. He
did say this summer appeared to be about the same as past summers.

The city's Emergency Response Team was used in 20 incidents to assist
vice and intelligence officers. In four cases, they responded to a
barricade situation and in 10 cases, they helped serve a search warrant.

Pawlowski said he wants residents to know that their tips are helpful.
MacLean said that after getting a tip, making an arrest can take days,
but it will get done.

''We want the dealers, whether large or small, to know that the
Allentown Police Department is in constant pursuit,'' he said. ''It is
our intent to take them down.''

Busy Summer

Allentown police have made cracking down on drugs a priority. During
the four months ending on Sept. 1, they did the following:

Arrested 208 higher- and lower-level drug dealers at 143
locations.

Seized 400 grams of heroin, almost 800 grams of cocaine and 400 grams
of marijuana, with a total street value of $200,000.

Seized $73,000 and 15 gun s, including two sawed-off shotguns, a rifle
and a gun similar to a TEC-9.

Source: City of Allentown.