Pubdate: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 Source: Morning Call (Allentown, PA) Copyright: 2007 The Morning Call Inc. Contact: http://www.mcall.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/275 Author: Manuel Gamiz Jr., Staff writer ALLENTOWN POLICE TOUT SUCCESS IN WAR ON DRUGS Summertime arrests in the city netted more than 200 drug dealers and their wares and weapons. Displaying 15 guns, a bulletproof vest and bags of marijuana, heroin and cocaine seized by vice and intelligence officers, Allentown authorities on Tuesday showed off what they did over the summer. They arrested more than 200 higher- and lower-level drug dealers at 143 locations -- mostly downtown -- in the four months that ended Sept. 1. Many of the 208 arrests have already been reported, but officials wanted to highlight the considerable time and resources that have been spent trying to crack down on Allentown's drug trafficking. Standing in front of a pair of city maps, one showing where the arrests happened and the other showing the 20 operations involving the Emergency Response Team, Mayor Ed Pawlowski vowed, ''We will not rest until we completely cripple the illegal drug trade in the city.'' The announcement of the summertime busts came a week after state Attorney General Tom Corbett announced the takedown of a $5 million-a-year drug ring that had ties to the Bloods gang and operated mainly out of a city barbershop. That crackdown was not included in the summertime statistics provided by Allentown officials. Figures and statistics for the summertime busts were presented in general terms, and that was by design. Officials said specifics were not provided because most of the cases are still in the courts. Still, Pawlowski said he wanted people to know that vice and special operations were busy over the summer. ''We are taking a lot of drugs, a lot of cash and disrupting a lot of operations,'' Pawlowski said. ''We are doing what we can to stop this trade.'' The city recently installed several surveillance cameras along Hamilton Street and plans to add more throughout the city. It also has began using a local Spanish-language radio station to get the word out about reporting crime or suspicious activity. Lt. George Medero of the Vice and Intelligence Division and the head of the gang unit, said a lot of the city's drug problems are associated with gangs. The dealers, he said, are getting younger and are more likely to carry a weapon. He said all the guns police recovered over the summer were loaded, including one with a 30-round clip. ''Wherever you have gangs, you'll have drugs,'' he said. Police Chief Roger MacLean said his officers in the summer seized 400 grams of heroin, almost 800 grams of cocaine and 400 grams of marijuana, with a total street value of $200,000. Officers also seized $73,000 and 15 guns, including two sawed-off shotguns, a rifle and a weapon similar to a TEC-9, a gun made famous by the Columbine High School massacre. MacLean said he only started taking statistics at the beginning of the year and did not have last year's summer totals readily available. He did say this summer appeared to be about the same as past summers. The city's Emergency Response Team was used in 20 incidents to assist vice and intelligence officers. In four cases, they responded to a barricade situation and in 10 cases, they helped serve a search warrant. Pawlowski said he wants residents to know that their tips are helpful. MacLean said that after getting a tip, making an arrest can take days, but it will get done. ''We want the dealers, whether large or small, to know that the Allentown Police Department is in constant pursuit,'' he said. ''It is our intent to take them down.'' Busy Summer Allentown police have made cracking down on drugs a priority. During the four months ending on Sept. 1, they did the following: Arrested 208 higher- and lower-level drug dealers at 143 locations. Seized 400 grams of heroin, almost 800 grams of cocaine and 400 grams of marijuana, with a total street value of $200,000. Seized $73,000 and 15 gun s, including two sawed-off shotguns, a rifle and a gun similar to a TEC-9. Source: City of Allentown. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin