Pubdate: Fri, 29 May 2009 Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON) Copyright: 2009 The Ottawa Citizen Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326 Author: Brendan Kennedy, The Ottawa Citizen Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Marijuana - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone) POLICE TARGET MARKET CRACK DEALERS Dozens Arrested As Part of Large-Scale Raid of Area Ottawa police arrested dozens of street-level crack dealers Thursday in the ByWard Market area as part of a large-scale drug sweep aimed at cleaning up the popular tourist destination for the summer. The sweep was the result of a four-month investigation by the police Street Crime Unit targeting open-air drug use and dealing in the area. Project CRACKDOWN identified 104 suspects -- 48 of whom were arrested by Thursday evening -- for low-level drug trafficking. The vast majority of the suspects -- about 90 per cent, according to investigators -- will be charged with trafficking crack cocaine, a purified and highly addictive form of the drug that is smoked instead of snorted or otherwise ingested. The rest will be charged with trafficking other drugs, such as marijuana, oxycontin and morphine, or for breaching conditions of existing charges. A few also face robbery charges. In the sweep, police seized about 22 grams of powder cocaine, 190 grams of crack cocaine and 100 grams of marijuana, with an estimated total street value of about $46,000. Police also seized two vehicles and $16,000 cash as "crime-related property." Of the 104 suspects, 18 are women and two are youths. The project's lead investigator, Sgt. Roland Campbell, said the probe was conducted using undercover officers, surveillance, informants and neighbourhood witnesses. Campbell said some of the suspected dealers will be held in custody, but most will be released with various conditions, including that they not be in the Market area. The Street Crime Unit has been operating since November 2007, and Campbell said the unit has made a significant difference in the Market area since then. "If you compare what's happening today to 2007, it's like night and day," Campbell said. "I think we're controlling the problem. We'll never eradicate it, but I think we're controlling it." He said most of the suspects will likely face three to four months in jail for dealing small amounts of crack, though repeat offenders could face longer terms. "The bottom line," Campbell said, "is if you deal crack cocaine, you're going to get jail." Campbell conceded that after being released, some of the suspects might end up right back in the Market. He said the majority of the dealers are crack addicts themselves, who may be ordered into drug treatment through the courts. "If one or two people get into treatment and get treated and stay off drugs for the next 10 years, then I think it's a success," he said. Neighbourhood and patrol officers in the Market area will continue to look for the remaining suspects over the next few days, and the Street Crime Unit will continue to monitor open-air drug use and dealing in the area, Campbell said. "We're not going away from the Market just because we did this." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake