Pubdate: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB) Copyright: 2007 Winnipeg Free Press Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502 Author: Bruce Owen Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) COKE BUST TO CURB STREET CRIME? Police Expect To See A Temporary Decrease A weekend bust of almost a quarter million dollars worth of cocaine at an alleged Portage Avenue drug lair will trigger a drop in street crime, a police officer said Thursday. Sgt. Rick Guyader of the Winnipeg Police Service's organized crime unit said Sunday's seizure will reduce the amount of crack on the street, meaning some users won't have anything to buy so they won't pull gas bar robberies or break-ins to pay for a fix. "It's a significant hit," Guyader said, adding police have noticed a drop in crime before when they put a big drug cell out of business. But he added that drop doesn't last long. Someone is always quick to fill in that gap to supply what appears to be Winnipeg's insatiable taste for cheap crack cocaine. "These guys will be scrambling because they don't want to lose their customers." The seizure is just one of several over the past year in which police have snagged alleged large-scale drug dealers in the process of handling their wares. Guyader said in this case the person behind the operation escaped capture, but police haven't given up looking for him. That person never touches the drugs -- he always has others do it for him. "They only lay their hands on the money," he said. And it's big money. Police estimate the cell working full-time put about five kilos a week of cocaine on the street. They started by buying pure cocaine by the kilo from sources on the West Coast and breaking it down, taking a kilo fresh off the boat from Colombia and diluting it by half with benzocaine. That produced two kilos, which they'd sell off to lower level dealers. They also baked up batches of crack, which was distributed by the ounce to street dealers. Conservatively, they were raking in thousands of dollars a week. "The money attached to it is pretty hard to resist," Guyader said, adding people at this level lead a life of supposed glamour club-hopping and hanging out with gangsters. Police began their investigation of the group back in January, but only recently got enough intelligence to do the raid on the weekend. That's because the suspects were cagey and continually took evasive action to avoid being picked off by police. "They're good at it," Guyader said as the WPS displayed a table top full of kilo bricks of pure cocaine, freshly baked pans of crack, weigh scales and a large orange hydraulic press used to re-pack kilo amounts of cocaine after diluting it with benzocaine. "They're businessmen, as you can see. They've got it down to a science." In total, police seized * 7.3 kilograms of cocaine (powder and Crack) with a street value of approximately $242,000; * 10 kilograms of legally available Benzocaine, used as a cutting agent with an estimated street value of $10,000; * More than $5,000 cash. Amandeep Bhullar, 21, was arrested in the suite and is charged with possessing a substance for the purposes of trafficking and production of a controlled substance. Sukhraj Singh Saran, 19, and Iqbal Singh Singh, 20, were arrested nearby a short time later. They are charged with multiple drug trafficking offences. All three suspects are detained at the Winnipeg Remand Centre. [sidebar] Big dealers City police have set their targets on large-scale dealers. Here are some examples of recent arrests: Aug. 19: Police raid an apartment in the 2500 block of Portage Avenue used to repackage and distribute powdered cocaine and crack cocaine. Officers seize more than seven kilos of cocaine worth about $242,000 on the street. Three people are charged. June 19: Police seize 15 kilograms of cocaine worth up to $1.8 million on the street, $525,000 in cash and 14 firearms, including two fully automatic sub-machine guns, in three suites at a Donald Street apartment block. Officers said the operation was a centre for crack cocaine production and money collection. A man and his girlfriend are charged. June 12: Police find a kilo of cocaine and a .40-calibre handgun at a residence in the Maples. Officers also seize 30 rounds of ammunition and $2,000 cash. Two 18-year-old men were arrested at the scene and face multiple charges. The crack had a potential street value of up to $20,000. May 4: Officers seize four kilos of cocaine when they raid an apartment at Webb Place to find the suspects in the middle of a "cook," turning powdered cocaine into crack. Five people are charged. That raid was in connection to an earlier Feb. 23, 2005 seizure of almost $140,000 in cash that was set to be shipped to Vancouver -- money the police believe was payment for as much as 15 kilos of cocaine. Officers also seized two handguns, ammunition, a pair of stun guns and a bullet-proof vest. March 13: Police seize crack cocaine, marijuana and a sawed-off shotgun during raids at two homes in north Winnipeg. Officers seized 236 grams of marijuana and 175 grams of crack cocaine valued at $14,000 potential street value. Three people are charged. Dec. 13, 2006: Police seize two kilo bricks of almost pure cocaine, two kilos of crack cocaine, three lbs. of freshly picked marijuana, 14 ounces of magic mushrooms (Psilocybin), several hundred ecstasy tablets, an electronic stun gun and two semi-automatic handguns, a nine-millimetre and .45-calibre, in a raid at an address in Elmwood. One man is charged. The seized drugs have combined street value of approximately $163,000. Jan. 18, 2006: Police seize two kilos of methamphetamine at a downtown hotel. The seizure was largest made by police to that date. The estimated street value is $90,000. Two Vancouver men were charged. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom