TIP HELPS SHERIFF'S OFFICE SCORE A RECORD DRUG BUST

The Randolph County Sheriff's Office deserves congratulations for its big
drug bust last week. With the assistance of other law-enforcement agencies,
officers seized 1,445 pounds of marijuana and made five arrests. The
suspects were identified as illegal immigrants, apparently from Mexico.

Sheriff Litchard Hurley noted that most of the people arrested in large
drug raids in Randolph County lately have been immigrants, adding: "Local
law enforcement's going to have to have more help from the federal people.
... There's no way we can do it all in Randolph. It's got to be stopped at
the border."

He's absolutely right. But, given that drugs will continue to flow across
the border, local law-enforcement agencies need help from within their own
communities, too.

Hurley said last week's bust came about as a result of a tip. So, some
unnamed civilian also deserves credit for this strike against the illegal
drug trade.

In an editorial published Jan. 2, we commented about the tremendous
increase in drug trafficking by Hispanic gangs and the harm this does to
the Hispanic community.

Most people who come to this country from Mexico or elsewhere in Latin
America want to make an honest living and raise their families in decent
neighborhoods. But the drug dealers are coming to prey on them and their
children and to bring crime to their communities.

"Hispanic leaders should encourage people to help by providing police with
information that can lead to arrests," we wrote.

If law-abiding members of Hispanic communities alert police to the presence
of drug traffickers, North Carolina really can offer a better life for everyone.