ARRESTS IN REGIONAL DRUG PROBE TOUCH U. VA.

Charges Against Current, Former Students And Staff

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Police are rounding up several current and former
students and employees of the University of Virginia as part of a yearlong
undercover investigation into drug trafficking.

The probe has resulted in indictments against 33 individuals and 15 arrests
so far.

Authorities with the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement Task Force announced
the status of the probe at U.Va.'s Scott Stadium yesterday afternoon.

The indictments charge seven former U.Va. students, 15 current students and
three university employees with selling or distributing drugs. The other
eight suspects are people not affiliated with the school who live in areas
bordering U.Va., police said.

Not all of the alleged drug trade and the suspects uncovered in the probe
were connected, police said.

Drug seizures have so far included marijuana, cocaine, opium, Ecstasy and
psilocybin mushrooms, police said. The street value of the drugs seized is
about $21,000, police said.

Authorities with the local task force launched the investigation after
receiving tips from U.Va. students and employees, they said.

University Police Chief Paul Norris called the drug trade at U.Va. part of
the larger, ongoing social drug phenomenon.

"I believe that drugs are a problem and issue of society in general,"
Norris said. "I don't think that the university is exempt from that."

The indictments were returned in August by grand juries for Charlottesville
and Albemarle County. All but two of the charges are felonies, police said.

The Jefferson Area task force is made up investigators with the
Charlottesville, Albemarle County and University of Virginia police
departments as well as detectives with the Virginia State Police and the
federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

The investigation could result in more charges, said Lt. Don Campbell, a
task force detective with the Charlottesville Police Department.

"We're going to continue to do what we can to control the flow of drugs
into the community," Campbell said.