DRUG SEIZURES JUMP IN '04

GASTONIA - Police in Gastonia confiscated more than $2 million worth of
drugs last year, a 33 percent jump from the year before, and it's a trend
they want to keep going.

Part of the increase is a result of police departments throughout Gaston
County sharing their resources, said Sgt. Don Roper with Gastonia's vice and
narcotics division. Rooting out drug dealers has become easier now that
departments are relying on each other's manpower, such as using available
officers to do surveillance, he said.

Also, Gastonia's street crime unit has picked up more low-level cases so
vice detectives can investigate bigger drug dealers, Roper said.

"The last few years have been the culmination of ongoing investigations," he
said.

Belmont and Mount Holly police departments also have produced big drug busts
as a result of long-term investigations. In July last year, Belmont officers
raided homes as they looked for 25 drug dealers during "Operation
Independence." In December, Mount Holly officers helped arrest 12 people
throughout the county facing drug charges. And in March, Belmont and Mount
Holly police worked together to arrest 50 people in "Operation Community
Awareness."

In Gastonia, crack cocaine and marijuana were the top two drugs seized in
the last five years, but police said they expect an increase in the
trafficking of methamphetamine, heroin and prescription drugs.

Drug deals occur throughout the city, not just in one area, said Sgt. Steven
Norris with the Gastonia vice squad. He said a couple years ago he was
surprised to serve a federal indictment on his son's former kindergarten
teacher's assistant.

"She had made some bad choices and had become dependent," he said. "It
doesn't matter what neighborhood you live in. If you've got neighbors,
there's probably some type of drug activity in your neighborhood. I hate to
say that."

In the past, detectives would do a couple of controlled drug purchases and
then execute a search warrant, said Norris, who was an agent on the vice
squad about five years ago.

"It was always hit or miss," he said. "You might get somebody with an ounce
of cocaine, and you thought you had done something major."

Now, the department has given undercover officers more money, and detectives
start out by buying a couple hundred dollars worth of drugs and eventually
pay up to a couple thousand dollars, Norris said.

"We take on the appearance that we're genuine drug dealers and that we're
trying to move up in the drug chain," he said.

While their undercover investigations aim to keep drugs and dealers off the
street, they also create a burden on the Gaston County court system. The
jail is already overcrowded, and jail officials were turned down this year
after applying for a $300,000 state grant to pay for a full-time substance
abuse counselor at the jail.

They're exploring other grants that would help drug abusers, said Gaston
County Sheriff Alan Cloninger.

"Drug abuse in Gaston County has always been an issue," he said. "Any way we
can address it through treatment to prevent people from using is a
worthwhile endeavor."