SUSPECTS STUNNED IN COCAINE STING

The Victoria police emergency response team used an explosive device
known as a flash-bang to arrest three suspects and seize one pound of
cocaine during a bust at Ogden Point Friday.

Police officers detonated the device beneath a vehicle in the Ogden
Point parking lot after information gleaned from an undercover
operation at a downtown nightclub alerted them to a scheduled drug
transaction.

"It's basically a large firecracker that makes a loud bang and
distracts people while police move in," said Victoria police chief
Paul Battershill. "They don't usually cause any damage to the vehicle."

ERT members moved in immediately following the explosion, smashing the
windows of the vehicles and hauling out three male suspects. Two of
the men have been charged with trafficking in a controlled substance
as a result of the undercover operation, while the third man is facing
a previous charge of trafficking in a controlled substance.

The Ogden Point bust was part of a string of arrests laid Friday in an
11-day undercover operation that targeted five night clubs in downtown
Victoria.

Police rounded up 16 suspected drug dealers Friday afternoon,
including an employee of one of the bars after undercover officers
determined that drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy were routinely being
sold on the premises. In some cases, bouncers and bar staff told
police officers where to find the dealers. In other cases, police say
bar staff were simply turning a blind eye to illegal activity.

Battershill said the sting operation was intended to prevent organized
crime from gaining a foothold in local nightclubs.

"Open trafficking of drugs in bars is not acceptable and will
ultimately lead to gang involvement in a very short time," he said.
"The fundamental issue is we're not going to allow open trafficking in
the bars."

During the undercover operation, officers bought illegal drugs inside
five bars: The Red Jacket, the Boom Boom Room, Legends, Monty's and
Evolution. In some cases, patrons were snorting lines of cocaine
inside clubs. In other cases, bar staff were willfully turning a blind
eye to drug dealing on their premises.

Police also witnessed a range of liquor licence infraction violations
ranging from over-service and overcrowding to staff openly drinking
with patrons.

Deputy police chief Geoff Varley said the sting operation was based on
intelligence gathered over the last "nine or 10 months" about illicit
activities at local nightclubs.

In addition to concerns about organized crime, police say drug and
alcohol-related violence outside night clubs continues to eat up
valuable police resources.

The bars chosen for the operation are among those that continually
require police presence at closing time, Varley added.

Recent initiatives by Victoria city council have also taken aim at
problem establishments.

Earlier this month, council raised business licence rates to $7 a seat
from $6 a seat for all primary liquor licence holders. The move is
expected to raise $30,000, money that will be used to hire a half-time
bylaw inspector to look for violations such as over-serving and
overcrowding.

Council has also implemented a $3 minimum drink price in an effort to
reduce the amount of police resources being dedicated to after-hours
enforcement.

Police say they'll continue with stepped-up enforcement through the
holiday season and beyond. Those efforts are likely to include visits
from bylaw officers responsible for enforcing the Capital Region's ban
on indoor smoking, another law that police say is being ignored by
some establishments.