DRUG CHARGES MAKE UP HALF OF CITY CASES BEFORE GRAND JURY

Cases investigated by Beckley police involving 49 people, 25 of them
facing drug charges, are expected to be presented to a Raleigh County
grand jury this coming week.

"This sends a message that we're tough on crime and on drug crime,"
Police Chief Tim Deems said. "Our guys are doing a great job. I would
put our detectives up against anyone."

Even more city drug suspects are facing federal indictments, and
there are several other cases narcotics investigators continue to
actively work, Detective Sgt. Jason McDaniel said.

"This isn't even a portion of the people we have charges on," he
added.

While narcotics investigators say they work continuously to combat
the city's illegal drug trade, new challenges have emerged -- growing
prescription drug crimes that are more difficult to investigate and
drastically changing suspect demographics.

And investigating drug crimes remains dangerous because dealers are
often armed, sometimes heavily.

"The drug trade itself is dangerous, dangerous business," Deems said.
"Our investigators put themselves on the line every day to do their
jobs. I know I appreciate that, and I know our citizens appreciate
that."

The majority of the drug cases involve the cocaine and crack cocaine
trades, and marijuana-related crime is ranked second, Deems said.
However, the fastest-growing cases involve illegal prescription drug
sales, and the number of female suspects has dramatically increased.

"Prescription narcotics are starting to become a huge factor in the
drug game," McDaniel said. "We have four federal indictments on pills
- -- just pills."

And those cases are harder to investigate. For instance, if a person
has a valid prescription for hydrocodone, simply possessing it is not
a crime.

"You have to actually catch them selling the pills -- that's why it's
so hard," McDaniel said. "They can dump their friends' hydrocodone in
the bottle and it all looks the same."

The prescription drug trade has largely been behind changing
demographics with drug suspects, McDaniel said. Narcotics
investigators are seeing larger numbers of older suspects and female
suspects.

Most people prescribed narcotics are older and they may be wanting to
supplement their incomes, he said.

"When we arrested people, and it was their first offenses, they used
to be younger," McDaniel said. "Now, the age gap is varied a lot.

"We have a man well into his 60s under indictment for a pill
case."

The only reason McDaniel could find behind the growing numbers of
female suspects is that more have decided to join their male
counterparts. In the past, most women arrested for drug crimes were
acting as carriers because male suspects believed no female police
officers would be available to search a female suspect. The Beckley
Police Department has three female officers, and one can be called to
the scene if none are on duty at a particular time.

"Now it's a free game," McDaniel said. "It doesn't have to be a man.
It used to be young males, but now, it's all ages, and women, too.
They're black, white, male, female -- everyone. The drug trade knows
no race, and it knows no gender.

"Every day, though, we try to put as large of a dent in it as we
possibly can."

McDaniel urged anyone with information about the illegal drug trade
to call the Beckley Police Department's Narcotics Enforcement
Division at 256-1844 or Crime Stoppers at 255-7867.