POLICE ASK HOTELS TO AID DRUG DEAL WATCH

In Vermont, Inn Staff Helps

BURLINGTON, Vt. - With drug dealers using some hotels to conduct business,
police are relying on hotel workers to keep their eyes on what's going on.

South Burlington Detective Gary Small has sent hotels in his town letters
with a list of red flags the staff should look for to spot potential drug
dealers.

At the Anchorage Inn, that letter is part of the training handbook, said
general manager Bob McCarroll. The University Inn and Suites uses the list
as part of its staff training as well, general manager Mike Sheeran said.

The men said teaching their staff to be aware of suspicious behavior is one
of the best defenses against renting to drug dealers.

Asking for identification is another key, they said. Customers who pay in
cash are required to show valid IDs at the two hotels. McCarroll said he's
seen people hesitate at the front desk and say they don't carry identification.

''The easiest thing to do is try and make sure we know who all our guests
are,'' McCarroll said.

Earlier this month, a housekeeper at the Colchester Day's Inn entered a
room after the occupants failed to check out on time. She found three men
passed out on the floor next to drug paraphernalia.

The hotel called the police. Officers searched the room and allegedly found
33 grams of cocaine, about 200 ecstasy pills, and a handgun, according to
court papers. The men were arrested.

The bust was one of the many that happen at mid-priced and upscale hotels
in the Champlain Valley.

Hotels have always been a popular spot for drug dealers to do business,
according to police officers. Out-of-town dealers rent rooms where they can
set up shop for a day or two while unloading their goods. Locals sometimes
choose to do business out of a hotel instead of risking bringing attention
and police to their homes.

Drug dealers don't necessarily frequent seedy hotels.

Last year, rescue workers responded to an 18-year-old woman who had
overdosed at the University Inn and Suites in South Burlington. The woman
recovered, and helped lead police to the arrest of a man considered to be
one of the area's largest heroin dealers. The man had been at the hotel
with the young woman.

In February, police arrested two people at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel
and Conference Center after allegedly finding 19 grams of crack cocaine, 55
bags of heroin and some unbagged heroin in their room. In June, three men
were indicted in federal court for allegedly selling cocaine and ecstasy.
Police said they were using a room at the Towne Place Suites in Williston
to do some of their business.

''These guys have a fair amount of money when they travel,'' said Small.
''Money is not an issue.''