Police charge 51 alleged 'dial-a-dopers'
Last Updated: Wednesday, April 1, 2009 | 4:57 PM MT
CBC News
A three-week police investigation has led to more than 120 charges being laid against 51 alleged street-level drug dealers, Edmonton police announced Wednesday.
Project Geld, which began in early March and wrapped up last week, targeted dealers police call "dial-a-dopers."
"These are the people in your community," Staff Sgt. Greg Preston said. "They're the ones selling drugs in front of your house, in front of our shopping centres. At some point, we have to address these people.
"We aren't ignoring the higher people, but we also want to make sure we don't ignore the lower end. It's easy to ignore the lower end and always work for the top."
The charges laid include 44 for drug trafficking and 43 for possession of the proceeds of crime.
Six vehicles and $14,500 in cash were seized by police during the investigation, along with 205 grams of cocaine and small amounts of marijuana, methamphetamine and Dilaudid.
The project was started because of concerns about drug activity in Edmonton, police said.
The investigation didn't target one particular neighbourhood, and was conducted in many areas of Edmonton.
