POLICE - PROGRESS IN FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS IN ALBANY

Methamphetamine continues to be a problem in Albany, and both Albany
police and the Linn County Sheriff's Office are working to deal with
it and think they are making some headway.

Albany police estimate there are 100 or more suspected drug houses in
the city.

The price of meth and marijuana in Albany has increased about 30
percent in the last year, according to detectives. Capt. Eric Carter,
spokesman for the Albany police, said the higher price is an
indication of police making a difference and disrupting the suppliers
so that drugs are harder to find.

The police department and sheriff's office served narcotics search
warrants in Albany last Wednesday. One was at 1969 Lockwood Place S.E.
and the other at 2114 Linn Ave. N.E.

Both were places where meth was being sold and where detectives found
dealer amounts of the drug, investigators said. Detectives also found
stolen property -- which is commonly linked to meth activity --
including items that had been shoplifted and were still in their
original packaging, and a laptop computer stolen in an Albany burglary.

Seven people were charged with drug offenses during the
raids.

Charges related to the stolen property were pending, and further
arrests were possible, Linn County Sgt. Kevin Greene said of his
agency's raid on Linn Avenue.

The sheriff's office narcotics team works throughout the county but
most of its search warrants are served in Albany. Greene said part of
the reason is that Albany is the biggest population in the county;
also, the detectives are based in Albany.

"This is the hub," Greene said. "We're in the hub."

He said the sheriff's office is conducting about the same amount of
drug searches as last year but countywide there are more narcotics
cases and raids.

Drug detectives within the county have an agreement to work together
as the Linn Drug Task Force. It includes members of the sheriff's
office, and the Albany, Lebanon and Sweet Home police
departments.

The detectives share information and help each other with searches,
but they maintain their own investigations and priorities.

Wednesday's raids were two separate investigations by Albany police
and the sheriff's office, although the agencies helped each other.
Lebanon police also assisted.

Having two agencies work separate narcotics investigations in the same
city requires detectives to "deconflict" -- a term used by narcotics
detectives -- to make sure they're not going to interfere with each
other's investigations, Carter said.

the numbers

This year so far, Albany police, including detectives and patrol
officers, have had 396 narcotics-related cases. That includes
everything from drug raids to finding a bag of meth on a sidewalk.

In those cases, 380 arrests were made and 26 children were taken into
protective custody.

Seizures have included:

* about one pound of meth

* more than 20 pounds of marijuana and another 27 marijuana
plants

* 383 prescription pills

* 13.5 grams of illegal mushrooms

* 6.8 grams of heroin

* 37.8 grams of cocaine

* 68 weapons, most of which were guns

* $28,000 in cash