Pubdate: Fri, 26 Nov 2004
Source: Chronicle Herald (CN NS)
Copyright: 2004 The Halifax Herald Limited
Contact:  http://www.herald.ns.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/180
Author: Ian Fairclough
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)

DRUG RAID IN VALLEY NABS 16

Three Dozen Charges Laid, More Expected

WINDSOR - RCMP swooped down on Windsor-area homes Thursday morning, 
breaking through doors, conducting searches and charging 16 people after a 
long investigation.

Police laid three dozen charges after searches of about a half-dozen 
properties in and around Windsor.

More charges and arrests are to come, Staff Sgt. Tom Grant said.

Officers raided the residences starting at about 9 a.m., seizing crack 
cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana and hashish. Stolen property was also recovered 
and a bootlegging operation shut down.

The operation involved officers from Windsor, New Minas, Bridgewater and 
Halifax, as well as Annapolis Valley Traffic Services members and three 
police dogs.

The 12 men and four women were picked up on separate warrants.

At one mobile home on Panuke Road, police cars filled the driveway as a 
RCMP dog sniffed around the home and a large, unfinished barn behind it 
that dwarfed the property.

Another team was searching a warehouse along the railway tracks in Falmouth.

Police were targeting street-level dealers and their local suppliers, Staff 
Sgt. Grant said.

Those arrested ranged in age from their early 20s to 60. Some were to be 
released, while others were being held pending court appearances. Their 
names were not being released Thursday.

The drug problem in the area has been building for some time, although 
crime statistics show the incidence is decreasing, Staff Sgt. Grant said.

Windsor and West Hants councils and local residents have been concerned 
about the issue, he said.

"We knew we were reducing crime before this, and this will have an impact 
on the drug and stolen property subculture - how devastating an impact, 
time will tell," the officer said.

Windsor Mayor Anna Allen said she was thrilled when police called her to 
say the raids had taken place.

"This had been a top priority for town council," she said. "As one member 
of the RCMP told me, it's the root of all evil."

She said she hopes the raids "send a strong message that we won't tolerate 
this in our community."

The mayor said she has seen people dealing drugs in plain view, and "it was 
time we did something about it."

Staff Sgt. Grant said investigators expected to find stolen property during 
the raids, because it's often traded for drugs.

"They are related crimes," he said.

Some of the stolen property seized included computer equipment, digital 
cameras, cellphones and clothes.

Police also found benefit cheques, social insurance cards, wallets and 
credit cards at one location, and the these items didn't belong to anyone 
who lived there. British and Asian currency was also seized.

"We have a bunch of stolen property we were actually looking for (from 
recent break-ins)," Staff Sgt. Grant said.

One of the men arrested called 911 to say there were people in his home he 
wanted removed, but the operator soon found out it was police who had 
entered the house.

Charges being laid include trafficking, possession for the purpose of 
trafficking, possession of stolen property, possession of drugs, 
bootlegging and breaches of probation and undertakings.

The investigation, known as Operation Hector, will continue and more 
charges are possible, Staff Sgt. Grant said.
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