CRACK DRUG OF CHOICE IN THE PAS

Prevalence Creating Serious Health, Social Problems

CRACK cocaine has become the drug of choice in The Pas, creating serious
health and social problems in the northern community, RCMP say. Mounties
made their latest seizure of the drug Thursday when officers arrested two
Winnipeg men and confiscated more than 20 grams of crack. Cpl. Pat Olson
said Friday the seizure was the 50th one made by police in the past two years.

"We've got a high rate of people on social assistance, and a lot of that
money goes up in smoke in the form of crack cocaine," Olson said.

"The community doesn't want it. It's a priority for us to deal with it.
It's doing nothing for the community socially or economically."

Thursday's seizure was made after Mounties got a tip, he said.

Officers intercepted a vehicle from Winnipeg and detained the two
occupants. In a subsequent search, officers found 20 grams of crack
cocaine. They then got a search warrant for a local hotel room, where they
seized several thousand dollars in cash and several more grams of crack
cocaine.

Olson said crack cocaine first started appearing in The Pas about two years
ago. The community and surrounding area, which has a population of about
13,000 people, has been targeted by drug dealers because they can make more
money selling there than in Winnipeg.

A rock of crack cocaine sells for about $40 in Winnipeg. In Manitoba's
north, the price can be as high as $70.

Olson also said crack cocaine, like other illegal drugs, is smuggled north
in a variety of ways. Mounties have also seized packages shipped by bus.

"(In) a lot of our seizures we make no arrests," he said. "We just want to
get it off the street."

Olson would not comment on the total dollar amount of the crack cocaine
seized in the past two years.

"I'll only say we've removed several thousand rocks," he said. "I don't
want to give a dollar amount -- it just shows how lucrative it is." With
the rise in seizures, RCMP are also dealing with a rise in robbery and
other property crimes as users try to get money to pay for the drug.

Dawson Robert Wolk, 31, and Vincenzo Saccente, 33, have been jointly
charged with one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking in
crack cocaine and one count of possession of proceeds of crime.

They were released on a recognizance with strict conditions to appear in
The Pas provincial court next month.