Drug dealers armed to teeth;
Date: May 3, 2007 10:14 AM
PUBLICATION: New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal
DATE: 2007.05.03
SECTION: News
PAGE: C1
BYLINE: Jeff Ducharme Telegraph-Journal
WORD COUNT: 634

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Drug dealers armed to teeth; Crime Latest raid reminds police drug dealers are packing
weapons more often

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It’s one of a police officer’s greatest fears: staring down the barrel of
a loaded gun.

And the nightmare scenario is creeping closer to reality as local police find guns
during almost every drug bust.

Drug dealers in the region are arming themselves at a disturbing rate, said Sgt.
Steve Gourdeau, who heads the Hampton RCMP detachment. Even more of a concern is
that police are often finding guns with a bullet in the chamber. He’s trying
to organize a strategy session with other area forces.

Handguns are quickly becoming more common and even the dealers on the street are
carrying a piece, he said.

“The latest that we’re hearing through the grapevines is that just about
every single drug trafficker at every level in this area is armed,” Gourdeau
said.

Because of the rural nature of the province, New Brunswickers and guns aren’t
strangers.

“It’s the loaded part,” said Gourdeau. “It’s the part where
somebody has a loaded shotgun parked behind their front door.”

Hunting rifles are one thing, but handguns are another.

“The handguns are what scares me the most because they’re so easily concealed,”
he said. “The handgun is probably more so a power icon than any other kind
of firearm.”

The most recent incident in the region occurred when members of the Saint John Police
Force raided a house at 63? Sewell St. in the city centre. Along with $3,000 in
crack cocaine and prescription drugs, and various weapons, police found a loaded
12-gauge shotgun during the Tuesday evening bust.

Five people were arrested in the raid led by the street crime unit, officers from
the heavily armed and specialized emergency tactical services and patrol officers.

Insp. Darrell Scribner said each operation has to be judged on a case-by- case basis.

“In my view it’s becoming more common that we’re finding such weapons
at these crack houses and additional precautions are necessary whether it’s
ETS (Emergency Tactical Services) or what tactical decisions we make to go into
the residence,” said Scribner.

But handguns, said Gourdeau, make the drug dealers feel invincible. Dealers are
worried about being busted or taken out by the competition and the mix of paranoia
and drugs becomes a volatile combination.

“If he’s packing a handgun, it doesn’t matter at all what the calibre
is, he feels like he’s superman and that’s a problem.”

A number of years ago near Norton, Gourdeau was part of a raid that found not only
drugs, but guns placed – some with scopes – at every window of the home.

“That’s scary. Are we going to see more and more of that? Very possibly.”

When Mounties made two March busts in the Hampton area, it resulted in the seizure
of more loaded weapons.

“The question is when do we do it (use the tactical team) and when don’t
we do it,” said Gourdeau. “And should we adopt a policy in this area based
on what we believe to know and that’s what we have to discuss at this meeting.”

Scribner said the fact that these guns are even in a home, let alone a house where
narcotics are being sold and used, is a deadly mix.

“So are we dealing with somebody that has all their faculties if they are abusing
drugs – no,” Scribner said.

Most dealers, said Scribner and Gourdeau, are not only selling drugs, but doing
so to feed their habit.

“You throw a loaded handgun in the mix – that’s not a good mix,” said
Gourdeau.

Police killings happen even in the most sleepy of communities. During a 15- month
period beginning in December of 2005, two police officers from the quiet Montreal
suburb of Laval, Que., were killed by suspects – one in a case involving a routine
noise complaint and the other a drug raid gone horribly wrong. At a secluded farmhouse
in Mayerthorpe, Alta., the Mounties faced their darkest day when James Roszko shot
and killed four officers in 2005 before committing suicide.

“We know that there’s a huge spike in the number of handguns coming into
our area,” said Gourdeau. “They’re not just coming through our area,
they’re coming to our area.”