BUSTS TARGET 'CLUB SCENE' DRUGS

About 50 suspects wanted on drug charges received an early wake-up
call Thursday morning from a multi-parish task force led by the Iberia
Parish Sheriff's Office.

In a coordinated, early-morning sweep, the Iberia and St. Mary
sheriff's offices served warrants on more than 50 people for
drug-related charges, said Iberia Parish Sheriff Sid Hebert. About 60
officers hit the streets at 5 a.m. to serve 105 warrants in Iberia,
St. Mary Vermilion, and other parishes, the majority of which were for
drug distribution. "We expect about a 50 percent catch rate," Hebert
said. "And we also expect to get a better location for some of the
people who have moved on us since the warrant was issued."

Hebert said the object of the sweep was to combat long-term problems
with loitering and street-level drug dealing in the inner-city areas
of Iberia Parish. In St. Mary, the operation targeted the "club
scene," where drugs like ecstasy and OxyContin were prevalent, said
St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office Maj. Steve Clarke.

The deep-cover operation began earlier this year when the Iberia and
St. Mary sheriff's offices swapped narcotics agents.

For several months, Hebert said, the agents assumed the profile of
drug users in order to gain the confidence of dealers.

One of the agents lived for six weeks under an assumed name in a new
city.

"I went out to problem areas and night clubs where they knew there was
drug activity going on," he said. "I introduced myself as being new in
town, and in the process we started conversing about drugs and it just
went from there."

In situations where the agents were unable to get close to the
dealers, such as in street-level buys, they used a different approach,
he said. Hidden cameras and surveillance vehicles enabled agents to
get a lasting impression of the deal, and agents later picked the
suspects out of photo line-ups.

Agents made buys of both the powdered and crystalline form of cocaine,
marijuana, methamphetamine, and ecstasy as well as prescription drugs
like Xanax and OxyContin. Those arrested ranged from mid-level dealers
to users.

Hebert said sweep operations offer several advantages over arresting
suspects one at a time.

The suspects are caught off guard before they can warn others, plus
the operation makes a statement that drugs will not be tolerated, he
said.

"Hopefully, it will produce a chilling effect," he
said.

Serving some of the warrants was easy - 12 of the suspects were
located in jails in other jurisdictions. Theses suspects are currently
being transported back to Iberia and St. Mary parishes.

The Iberia, St. Mary and Vermilion Parish Sheriff's Offices and the
Franklin and New Iberia Police Departments were among the more than 15
agencies participating in the round-up.

The U.S. Marshal's Service and Louisiana State Police helped clamp
down on suspects having connections in other parishes and states.