ANOTHER CITY HOTEL FEELING HEAT FROM COPS

Vancouver police have identified an East Side rooming house as a major
target in their ongoing battle against drug dealers and crime in city
neighbourhoods.

The Dundas Hotel at 2167 Dundas St., near Templeton, has generated
approximately 80 police calls this year-which is double the calls last
year-for crimes including assaults and drug dealing.

Last Monday, police seized 37 grams of crack cocaine, 44 grams of heroin,
eight grams of powder cocaine and $3,800 in cash from a room inside the
three-storey building.

People in the room scattered when police arrived, so no one was arrested,
said Vancouver police Insp. Bob Rolls, the commander in charge of the area
known for its low-rent apartment buildings.

The next night, police returned and seized two-way radios from staff who
allegedly used the radios to warn drug dealers that police had entered the
building, Rolls said.

"A lot of the residents in there are known to us and some of the staff are
people who are known to us for things related to drug trafficking, so we
know that there's a bad group of people in there," he said.

Police now conduct daily checks of the building, and have supplied their
findings to the city's licensing department for review. Police may also
contact the fire and health departments to search for infractions at the
rooming house.

In recent months, the police's work, combined with other city agencies, led
to the closure of the Marr Hotel and the pub in the American Hotel.

Since police began cracking down on drug dealers in the Downtown Eastside
almost two years ago, many dealers have shifted their businesses to hotels
and various low-rent buildings, Rolls said.

The shift has not only made it more difficult for police to locate the
dealers, but has also attracted more crime to neighbourhoods. For example,
Rolls said house burglaries and theft from vehicles have increased in the
neighbourhood surrounding the Dundas Hotel.

"Eventually, that building will comply or we'll shut it down like we've
shut down other buildings."

The Courier visited the rooming house Monday morning. A lone clerk sitting
behind a glass window in the lobby said he was new to the job and didn't
know anything about the police visits.

A handwritten sign above the window said, "No drug dealing will be
tolerated by management. Immediate evacuation will be the consequence. From
the Dundas Hotel management."

The clerk, who wouldn't give his name, said the rooming house is managed by
a man named Tom. The Courier left a message for management, but it wasn't
returned by yesterday's deadline.

According to property records, the rooming house is owned by 560977 B.C.
Ltd. William Bailie, who has a mailing address in Surrey, is listed as
director, according to the B.C. Assessment Authority. Bailie couldn't be
reached before deadline.