Pubdate: Tue, 24 Apr 2007 Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC) Copyright: 2007 Prince George Citizen Contact: http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350 Author: Frank Peebles Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) CRACK SHACKS TARGETED RCMP have been cracking down on the local drug scene in recent weeks, executing seven search warrants in the past 16 days, all against alleged crack shacks. Prince George RCMP Sgt. Tom Bethune said the searches are becoming increasingly dangerous for police and innocent neighbours. For the second time in less than a week, Mounties needed extreme forced entry techniques to gain access to one of the homes they raided, the latest in the 2200 block of Quince Street on Friday evening. "Heavily armed police and the Emergency Response Team were forced to enter the residence through the second story of the house," Bethune said. "The main floor was heavily barricaded, denying police and intruders entry." Eleven people were arrested in the basement while a 15-year-old boy was taken into custody on an upper floor. "This is the second search within the last two weeks that a child has been arrested for trafficking and responsible for a crack shack," Bethune said. It is also the second time in recent days that police have found a hole between floors at the drug houses used to exchange money and drugs. The customers are confined to the lower floor while the drugs are held in the upper storey by dealers. The dealers are not seen by the customers below, and it is harder for rival crooks to burst in and rip off the money and drugs. It also buys the crooks in the house time to hide their stash if the police raid the building. This is another indication, Bethune indicated, that organized crime is running local crack shacks. Bethune said the bulk of this activity is conducted by a group called The Crew, which is overseen by the Hells Angels. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom