Pubdate: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 Source: The Illawarra Mercury (Australia) Page: One, Front Page Copyright: 1998 Illawarra Newspapers Contact: http://mercury.illnews.com.au/ Author: Nalita Ferraz Police Fear It's Open Slather For Dealers, As ... DRUG SQUAD AXED Illawarra drug dealers would be free to ply their lethal trade without fear of arrest after the abolition of a specialist police unit, officers said last night. The Wollongong District Drug Unit was disbanded by senior officers who denied the move signalled they were going soft on drugs. But police sources claimed senior Wollongong officers were not seriously interested in fighting drugs as they were obsessed with paperwork and statistics. They said the lack of support from superiors meant Wollongong detectives no longer were interested in pursuing drug dealers. The move was evidence that high-level cops had lost sight of the bigger picture and were only motivated by arrest rates, one source said. "If police don't target the drug suppliers there will be more users on the streets committing more property crime than ever before," the source said. "When a drug supplier is arrested they want to see an immediate drop in reported crime but it doesn't work like that." "The unit might not immediately stop the problem but at least it is stopping it from getting worse. This is definitely a free for suppliers." The drug unit's six officers formerly based at Wollongong now were attached to Operation Lumsden, an intense anti-theft squad involving Wollongong plain-clothes detectives. The officers were told late last week they would stay with Operation Lumsden until it was wound up. They then would become general detectives. Wollongong Lord Mayor David Campbell last night criticised the move which he described as a disastrous. "The notion that there are not dedicated police resources to chase the scourge of drug dealers is laughable." Cr Campbell said. "Drugs are clearly the root of so many problems in the Illawarra. They are the root of theft, the root of the little hold-ups that happen around the city." Wollongong Inspector Peter Lincoln scoffed at suggestions senior police weren't interested in fighting drugs. He said police were simply regrouping to throw all available resources at all areas of crime. "There's no way we've forgotten about drugs," he said. "We have a number of things in place that are hurting Wollongong crime-wise." "(Superintendent Jim) Baillie wants to look at all crime and use all our resources in a big way. I think Wollongong will soon see the results of this combined effort." - --- Checked-by: Richard Lake