HASTINGS MERCHANTS TARGETED BY ADDICTS

Heights merchants are mad as hell over a rash of thefts and break-ins they
believe are being perpetrated by tenants in a nearby "crack shack."

Rino Cioffi, whose family owns Cioffi's Meat Market & Delicatessen on
Hastings, said a house in the 4100 block of Pender Street has been an
ongoing source of problems for several weeks.

"They come in here, grab what they want and make a run for it straight back
to the house," Cioffi said. "It's ridiculous, because it just keeps
happening over and over again. We've called the police, but it's not
solving anything."

Despite several arrests, Cioffi said, the thefts have continued.

Other merchants in the area are also at their wit's end as to how to
address the problem, he said.

"It's getting to the point where we're wondering if this is going to be
another situation like what they had in Surrey," Cioffi said, referring to
a recent case where neighbourhood residents set about forcing tenants out
of an alleged drug house by destroying the doors and windows, forcing their
way inside and hauling all the furniture out onto the front lawn.

"Some of us are kind of worried - what'll happen if we ever catch one of
these guys? We're so mad, I can't even begin to tell you."

Another employee at a nearby business said she has also had her share of
run-ins with the tenants as they have shoplifted from her store at least
twice this past week in what she described as a "stash and dash."

"You see them coming in, and you recognize them immediately because they
look so out of place - very scruffy, very straggly," she said, asking that
her name be withheld to prevent any repercussions from the tenants.

"You try to throw them out, but it's always too late because they're so
quick. They'll snatch something off the counter, and high tail it back to
that house... all you can do is watch and hope nobody gets hurt."

She also said she's had a number of attempted break-ins in the last month,
something which she hasn't seen in over a decade of doing business in the
Heights.

"Can I prove it was them? Not likely, but it's too coincidental," she said.
"I just wish the police or the city could shut them down for good. That
house needs to go."

Burnaby RCMP Const. Phil Reid sympathized with the business owners, but
warned them not to take the law into their own hands.

"We understand that sometimes the laws can be frustrating for people, but
it's certainly better if you work in conjunction with the police as opposed
to trying to deal with it yourself," Reid said.

"There's nothing worse than when you have to arrest 'the good people' in a
case like this. Yes there's been some success stories in the past, but
they're only success stories because nobody got hurt."

Reid said the best thing people can do when there's a suspected drug house
in their neighbourhood is to provide the police with what he called
"natural surveillance."

Any information you can pass on to police will help us, Reid said, listing
such examples as license plates, suspect descriptions and times when the
residents appear to be coming and going.

"Every little bit helps if you can gather as much information as possible
from a safety standpoint," Reid said, adding that local neighbours can be
the "eyes and ears" for the RCMP.

"These guys can see us coming, but if you live there it's like you fit in -
they won't notice you as much," Reid said. "Always, always be careful, and
if anything does happen out of the ordinary, please call police right away."