POLICE STINGS BRING 283 ARRESTS

During a three-day operation called 'Straight Flush,' police arrested
283 people in an effort to wipe out crime in problem areas.

Miami police made nearly 300 arrests during a three-day operation,
dubbed "Straight Flush," where officers from every unit within the
department saturated the city's most active crime hot spots.

Beginning on Tuesday, uniform patrol officers from three districts
arrested 116 people.

The Crime Suppression Unit then joined forces with the Organized
Crime and Terrorism Squad on Wednesday to serve eight search warrants
throughout Model City, Overtown and Little Haiti where undercover
officers had made several drug buys the week before, said Lt. David
Magnusson, commander of the Patrol Support Unit.

"They got all the guys that sold to them the week before," Magnusson
said. "If you're going to sit up all night worrying about who you
just sold drugs to, then our job is done. The main thing is to take
away their comfort zone."

The operation concluded on Thursday when officers set up several
reverse drug stings, once again roping in another 43 arrests.

Magnusson explained that with the reverse stings, detectives will
either make an arrest or chase off a suspected drug dealer and then
set up shop in that area.

"This is where we go after the buyers," Magnusson said.

By the end of the operation, police had arrested 283 people -- 116 of
which were for narcotics-related charges.

Magnusson said he plans to do a study of the city's crime trends for
the weeks before and after Operation Straight Flush, expecting to see
a reduction in crime following the three-day operation.

Straight Flush was part of the police department's ongoing
initiative, Operation Difference, in which officers focus on wiping
out crime in the city's major problem areas.