STREET WISE

Eagle-Eyed Residents Help Police Crack Drug House in Sapperton

After some sleepless nights, residents in a Sapperton neighbourhood
are finally getting a good night's rest after a suspected drug house
was shut down.

Three men and three women were arrested Sunday night when New
Westminster Police raided a home in the 400-block of Kelly Street.
Cocaine, heroin and a large amount of cash were found after police
executed a search warrant at the problem house.

Neighbours went to the police several weeks ago, concerned the home
was being used to sell drugs. People were going in and out of the
house at all hours. Many visitors looked out of place in the
family-oriented neighbourhood, located one block east of Royal
Columbian Hospital.

Residents recorded and reported suspicious activity around the house
and helped police build a case to obtain a search warrant.

"Petty thefts in their neighbourhood immediately went up," said New
West police Staff Sgt. Ivan Chu. Chu of what neighbours observed. "All
of a sudden you had this parade of crack heads in their neighbourhood,
going to and from the house constantly, and cars driving up. It just
wasn't your run-of-the-mill neighbourhood activity.

When police arrived at the home, one man escaped on a motorcycle. He
was followed by the Air 1 helicopter, who reported his position to
police on the ground. Eventually he was arrested in a Burnaby hotel
room where more drugs and money were seized.

One of the individuals arrested at the home was a young offender,
while several suspects were already wanted on a variety of other
charges. Charges of drug possession and trafficking are being
considered as the investigation continues.

Chu advised New Westminster residents to be vigilant in protecting
their neighbourhoods and pointed to this group of neighbours as a good
example. "Our message is loud and clear, it's not to be tolerated," he
said. "We have teams of police officers who will get involved in this,
and when the time is right, we come full force."