Pubdate: Fri, 04 Sep 2009 Source: Kamloops Daily News (CN BC) Copyright: 2009 Kamloops Daily News Contact: http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/679 Author: Robert Koopmans Note: MAP archives articles exactly as published, except that our editors may redact the names and addresses of accused persons who have not been convicted of a crime, if those named are not otherwise public figures or officials. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids) TENSE MOMENTS AS UNDERCOVER DRUG COP FACES SHOTGUN Four teens are in custody charged with robbery and threats after they stuck a sawed-off shotgun in the face of an undercover RCMP officer they thought was a drug dealer. The attempted robbery came at the end of a four-week Kamloops RCMP drug investigation focusing on street-level drug dealers. The undercover team had arranged to buy drugs and agreed to meet at a spot on the outskirts of the city, in the mid-afternoon Thursday. As the deal went down, so did the attempted robbery. Kamloops Insp. Yves Lacasse would not provide specifics about the incident, noting the case is before the courts, but said the undercover officer's cover team swooped in and made the arrests. No one was injured in the incident. Regardless, the incident proved a frightening reminder of the potential for violence within the drug culture, as well as about the dangers police officers face. Lacasse said his team called him as soon as the incident was over. "When I got the call, it was very, very, very frightening," he said. "I felt sick, I thought I was going to vomit." The four accused, [redacted], 19, [redacted], 18 and [redacted], 18,and a 17-year-old youth, are all charged with robbery and use of a firearm to commit robbery with violence. They will appear in court Wednesday. The firearm offences carry minimum five-year terms of imprisonment. RCMP undercover officers never work alone, but always have a cover team nearby. But Lacasse noted undercover operatives do not carry the protective gear and defensive weapons that a regular uniformed officer carries. "This happened so fast," he said. "These guys have no rules." Cpl. Gary Senner, who was on the cover team when the attempted robbery took place, said he was not surprised that drug dealers wanted to rip off another dealer. That kind of violence is common in the drug trade and happens all the time. In this instance, an officer was on the receiving end, however. Teams prepare for such eventualities, as there is always the possibility of violence when dealing with drug culture in this kind of manner. "It was a tense moment, it was not expected," Senner said. "You never know when it is going to happen. It's kind of like winning the lottery." He added he's only seen one other incident in his career when an undercover officer faced a situation like this. The violence aside, Senner said this undercover operation was similar to others done in Kamloops in recent months. The team targeted street level dealers, some of whom had been causing problems for residents in a downtown neighbourhood. Those residents staged a recent protest against the illegal activity, urging police to act. Lacasse said it was frustrating for him and Senner to have to listen to the complaints, knowing there was an operation underway and not being able to tell the residents. In the end, the officers charged 43 individuals, including seven prolific offenders, with drug offences. The officers purchased more than 3,000 pills, mostly ecstasy, as well as cocaine. They seized the sawed-off shotgun and more than $4,000 cash. The spoils were spread out on a table at the RCMP detachment during the press conference outlining the busts. The bags of blue and orange ecstasy pills were most noticeable, stacked up in bags at one end of the table. Senner said he was surprised by the amount of ecstasy they were able to purchase. He noted much of the ecstasy ends up sold in local high schools. "When we were told we could buy as much as we wanted, that was unexpected," Senner said. Despite that, Senner said this operation also affirmed for him Kamloops is a safe town. "From other towns I've policed in like Kelowna and Prince George, Kamloops is by far the cleanest and safest I've seen," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom