HUGE POLICE RAIDS TARGET COCAINE TRADE

POLICE say the city's cocaine trade took a major hit yesterday when
more than 100 officers fanned out across the city in 18 carefully
timed early morning raids designed to snare members of a suspected
Asian-based crime ring.

Police say the intent was to shut down a pipeline that originated in
Vancouver and brought large amounts of cocaine and crack cocaine to
Winnipeg streets. Simultaneous raids took place in Vancouver
yesterday, with one arrest.

RCMP Sgt. Steve Saunders said police believe the group was involved in
a network that could distribute cocaine in large quantities -- perhaps
by the kilogram -- to street dealers. Twenty men and women were in
custody by noon yesterday.

Their names were not released.

Those arrested in the pre-dawn raids -- called Operation Demobilize --
face a variety of charges: conspiracy to traffic in cocaine,
trafficking, drug possession and commission of an offence for a
criminal organization.

More information is to be released today. Saunders said the 150 police
officers involved raided homes in all parts of the city, and seized
small amounts of cocaine, marijuana and steroids, as well as cash and
a prohibited weapon.

However, he added what officers were really looking for was a paper
trail that would let the Crown show that the accused were involved in
an organized crime group that conspired to traffic in drugs.

Officers also seized 30 vehicles believed to have been used in drug
transactions. The raids were carried out by the RCMP drug section,
Winnipeg police and the members of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency.

A search warrant prepared by RCMP and left at one of the houses, a
bright yellow home on Alexander Avenue, said officers were also
looking for cellphones, pagers, scales, score sheets, drug
paraphernalia, cutting agents, passports, travel documents and
financial records.

The 17-year-old daughter of one of the men taken into custody told
reporters police also seized her personal computer. "My dad only uses
it to play solitaire," Jennifer Tat said. She identified her father as
Van Tat. The search warrant, signed by a provincial court judge,
identifies him as Tich Van Tat. A search warrant is not considered
evidence and Tat must be considered innocent until proven otherwise.

Saunders said police couldn't comment on what specifically was seized
from Tat's home or any of the other 17 addresses, as the investigation
is ongoing. Jennifer Tat also guided reporters through the family
home, showing how RCMP ransacked every room looking for evidence.
Clothes littered the upstairs hallway and bedrooms as police emptied
out drawers and closets. Officers also dumped food and other items on
the floor as they went through the kitchen.

"My dad was in handcuffs," she said. "My dad is not the kind of person
to run away from a problem. If they just asked him nicely he would
have co-operated. To pin him on the floor was unnecessary."

She also said police broke down the front door of the home, waking
everyone up, including her grandparents, mother and younger brother
and sister.

She added police ordered everyone to get up and get
dressed.

"My first impression is that they were very rude," she
said.

A city police drug-sniffing dog was then sent through the house and
garage, she said.

As the raid was happening, RCMP from the Winnipeg drug section and the
integrated proceeds of crime section executed four search warrants at
three homes and one business in Vancouver. One adult male was taken
into custody and a significant amount of cash seized.

It also coincided with raids in Quebec in which 23 Hells Angels
associates were charged with gangsterism, conspiracy to traffic drugs
and drug trafficking. Police said one of those arrested was lawyer
Benoit Cliche, who appeared in court in Montreal on Monday to defend
Maurice (Mom) Boucher, the Hells leader who is in prison on two
first-degree murder convictions.

Saunders said the RCMP investigation in Winnipeg was not related to
the one in Quebec. The Mounties' investigation here began in March
2002. Last May, city police became involved.

Saunders said it's believed the suspects are connected to an
Asian-based drug distribution network. He wouldn't comment on its
leadership or scope.

He also said police do not believe the group is linked to other
organized crime outfits, like the Hells Angels or aboriginal-based
street gangs.

The Criminal Intelligence Service Canada's 2003 report on organized
crime describes Asian-based crime groups as being highly mobile,
culturally and linguistically diverse and largely composed of loosely
knit networks.

The CISC report also says Asian Organized Crime (AOC) groups are
entrenched in B.C., Alberta and Ontario, and are increasingly active
in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, and are
associated with other crime groups in the United States and Southeast
Asia.

"Asian-based criminal groups are entrepreneurial and are often
involved in multiple criminal activities simultaneously," the report
says.