DRUG-DEALING STUDENTS BUSTED BY UNDERCOVER COP

CLINTON - Students at Anderson County's two high schools sold a
variety of controlled drugs to an undercover officer during an
eight-month probe dubbed "Operation School House," Clinton Police
Chief Rick Scarbrough said Friday.

Police began arresting the nine male students at the high schools
Friday morning. One adult, not affiliated with the school system, has
been charged with selling methamphetamine to the officer.

Scarbrough said the crackdown would have a lingering
effect.

"For a number of years, I think the legend of the undercover officer
in the schools is going to go on because kids are going to be wary of
dealing drugs in school," he said during a noon press conference.

The 24-year-old officer began posing as a student at Anderson County
High in March and started buying drugs from students there two months
later, Scarbrough said.

Purchases were made in school restrooms, hallways and parking lots, he
said.

Drugs that were sold to the officer ranged from pain pills to
anti-psychotic drugs to marijuana.

Students sold the drugs, many of which may have been taken from home
medicine cabinets, for a pittance, Scarbrough said.

"They (students) are not as street-savvy and business-savvy as our
usual street dealers are. They almost give the drugs away."

The undercover officer bought drugs four times at Anderson County in
May just before classes recessed for the summer.

When school resumed in August, the officer made another seven drug
purchases - three of them off-campus - from Anderson County High students.

The officer transferred to Clinton High School in October and made
four drug buys that month, Scarbrough said.

At the same time, school resource officers who were unaware of the
undercover officer's presence made several drug arrests during
October, Scarbrough said.

It then became increasingly difficult for the undercover officer to
make drug buys so police decided to end the operation, he said.

The operation "gave us a good measure of what our drug problem is in
the schools," Scarbrough said. He said the two high schools have a
combined enrollment of 2,100 students.

"If you only arrest 10 individuals, possibly your drug problem is not
quite as severe as you once thought. When drugs are in the school it's
a problem, but maybe not to the level that some parents were concerned
about."