MULTI-AGENCY WARRANT SWEEP NAILS 90 SUSPECTED DRUG DEALERS

The GBI Investigation Targeted Alleged Street-Level Crack Dealers In Weed
And Seed Neighborhoods.

John Mitchell sees drug deals daily in his Dixon Park neighborhood.

But after authorities made 90 arrests Tuesday of suspected drug dealers --
mostly in neighborhoods like Dixon Park that are targeted by a federal
anti-drug program -- Mitchell expects to see fewer, at least for a while.

Starting at 5 a.m., state and local police began serving warrants for 196
alleged street-level dealers. Ninety-five percent of the 90 arrests made
were for suspected sales of crack cocaine. More arrests are expected.

Those arrested and booked in Chatham County jail are alleged street-level
dealers -- not the more powerful crack suppliers. While street-level
dealers are easily replaced, jailing nearly 100 still improves the quality
of life, Mitchell said.

"People want to come home and sit on their porch without being hassled by
the continuing traffic that these drug houses bring," said Mitchell,
president of Dixon Park Neighborhood Association. "You can't give up on the
small guy on the corner, just because the bigger fish make for bigger
headlines."

The arrests stemmed from an investigation during which drug agents made 303
purchases from dealers, said Vicki Metz, Georgia Bureau of Investigation
spokeswoman. GBI initiated the investigation in August at the request of
the Chatham-Narcotics Team (CNT).

Of 196 people targeted, 130 were out of the federally-funded Savannah Weed
and Seed Program site, said Dan Drake, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's
Office.

Funded since 1993, the program aims to "weed out the bad and seed in
neighborhood revitalization" in seven neighborhoods and three public
housing communities heavily saturated with street crime and drugs, Drake said.

"It has brought local law enforcement and communities together to combat a
common enemy -- crime," Drake said. "Ten years ago, police and communities
would not talk, today, a different story."

While supporting street-level drug sweeps, some residents also want
authorities to target the drug suppliers, Mitchell said.

"The little guys take the fall for the big guys," Mitchell said. "It
probably would surprise people who is financing bringing the drugs into the
community. You got to have money to do it."

* Most suspected street-level dealers targeted during a warrant sweep
Tuesday lived in the federally-funded Weed and Seed Program site. The area
consists of seven neighborhoods and three public housing communities: the
Cuyler-Brownsville, Dixon Park, East Victorian, Eastside, Thomas Square and
Metropolitan neighborhoods and the Blackshear and Kayton-Frazier Homes
public housing communities.

* Various police agencies participated in the sweep including CNT, GBI,
Chatham County, Savannah and Garden City police, Chatham County Sheriff's
Office, Georgia Department of Corrections, Chatham County Probation, U.S.
Marshal's Service, National Guard, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the
District Attorney's Office.