RCMP BREAK DOWN DRUG TRADE

No One Can Fault Const. Dan Thorne for Being Honest.

The nine-year veteran of the RCMP drug section shares the frustration of
community members who see a rising prevalence of drugs in their neighbourhoods.

They might see someone dealing drugs in plain view and report it, but
often, there's little the cops can do, he said.

There are four guys in the drug section, he told a group of about 50 North
Shore residents Monday night during the latest of a five-part Safer
Neighbourhood Series on how to prevent crime.

"If we were to target the people on the street all the time we'd get
nowhere. We try to target the upper level dealers. When people call us to
tell us there's a guy selling drugs on the street. The court system doesn't
really frown on it all that much."

Thorne mapped out the way the drug trade works in Kamloops, explaining the
dealers most people notice aren't the ones calling the shots and are often
as dependent on the drugs as their customers. On any given day, they might
arrest a dealer with $2,600 in his pockets and four ounces of crack cocaine.

He told the group what a grow-op looks like and how to spot one in the
neighbourhood. The audience was also told how a methamphetamine lab works,
and telltale signs there might be one next door.