Encouraging to see crackdown on dealers

Last week, the Stratford Police Drug/Intelligence Unit completed a five-month drug trafficking investigation resulting in the arrest of 12 Stratford and area residents on a number of drug trafficking and weapons-related offences. Project “Cranked” was designed to target traffickers of crystal methamphetamine and other controlled substances within the City of Stratford and Perth County.

The project was funded by the enforcement initiative of The Perth County Methamphetamine Task Force using a portion of a million dollar grant received in 2007.

Ninety criminal and drug-related charges were laid including trafficking methamphetamine, possession for the purpose of trafficking methamphetamine, trafficking cocaine, possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine, possession for the purpose of trafficking ecstasy, possession for the purpose of trafficking oxycodone, trafficking marijuana, possession for the purpose of trafficking marijuana, and possession of prohibited weapons.

By police estimates, about $81,000 worth of controlled substances was seized and removed from the streets of Stratford. Police say the amount of methamphetamine seized has potentially removed the possibility of approximately 800 persons becoming addicts of this highly addictive drug. During the investigation a marijuana grow operation was also uncovered, a search warrant was executed and about 100 marijuana plants were recovered along with processed marijuana valued at about $120,000.

The bad guys are out there. So too, thankfully, are the good guys. And while it seems as though the estimate that a potential of 800 people were saved from meth addiction through all this activity seems a bit high to us, the point is clear: That much substance, at least, is gone from the marketplace.

Hopefully, too, the accused sellers will be out of commission for a while. Too often police do their part in bringing justice to our society and helping to protect us, only to see their efforts squandered by other parts of the justice system. We hope that doesn’t happen here.

Those who want mind-altering substances and those who want to provide them will always be with us. The job for everyone is to make it harder for buyer and seller to do business. Our police and our crystal meth task force are making that happen and for that they deserve thanks and praise.