'CULTURE' OF GUNS, DRUGS

Latest Ring Called Part Of 'Disturbing Trend'

The number of guns seized in drug busts has soared 600% in the past two
years, Toronto Police said after smashing a network they say "flew below
our radar." "It's a very disturbing trend and illustrates the extent to
which guns have become a part of the drug culture in our city," Staff-Insp.
Dan Hayes, head of the Toronto Police drug squad, said yesterday.

Drug squad officers seized 80 firearms last year -- a 266% increase over
the year before when 22 guns were seized and a 627% hike over the year
before that, Hayes said.

EIGHT ARRESTED

In the unit's latest bust, a loaded .45-calibre Glock handgun and a
12-gauge sawed-off shotgun were found after officers said they smashed a
cocaine and marijuana network.

Police said they also seized 2.5 kilos of coke, 6 kilos of pot, and 1,200
Ecstasy pills, with a total value of $668,000.

Seven men and one woman face drug trafficking and weapons charges and
warrants have been issued for two other people.

HIGH-LEVEL DEALER

"We feel we have taken out a fairly high-level drug dealer here," Hayes
said, adding the network had gone unnoticed by police.

Police first came across the ring last month in what Hayes said started out
as a "low-level" drug buy involving a "bit player."

Arrests were made last Thursday after a kilo of cocaine was delivered to an
undercover officer at a downtown hotel, Hayes said.

The cocaine was 96% pure, "some of the purest we've seen in Toronto," Hayes
said.