THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 27, 1996 TAG: 9601270257
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COLUMBIA LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
State and local law enforcement agents swept through this small town on the banks of the Scuppernong River with arrest warrants for 13 suspects they believe to be the heart of the Tyrrell County drug trade.
Agents from North Carolina's Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) agency, Tyrrell County Sheriff's deputies, and officers from the Elizabeth City and Edenton police departments carried the raid well into the evening Friday.
At least four people were in custody Friday evening, with more arrests expected through the weekend.
The operation, named ``Operation Clean Street,'' is the culmination of an eight-month investigation into drug trafficking in this Northeastern North Carolina county.
ALE Agent Jimmy Pierce, who headed the Tyrrell County raid, said Friday's arrests are an outgrowth of a December investigation in Dare County known as ``Operation Season's Greetings.''
In that sweep, more than 30 suspects were arrested in one of the largest anti-drug efforts in the region's history.
``We started in the summer of 1995, about the same time we start ed the Dare County operation,'' Pierce said of the Tyrrell effort. ``We have 16 people that we will charge with drug offenses. Most of those involve the sale and delivery of crack cocaine.''
Three of the suspects are currently in jail for unrelated offenses, Pierce said.
Tyrrell County Sheriff's Lt. Fred Hemilright said the arrests will cut not only into the drug trade, but other crime in the county.
``About 80 percent of the problems we have, from property crimes to domestic violence, are tied to drugs,'' he said. ``This will slow it down for a while, but it's not going to stop it.''
Along with the arrests, officers executed search warrants at three mobile homes. In one home, 30 children watched as one suspect was taken into custody. Another suspect, for whom officers had a warrant, was arrested when he approached officers to see what was going on. ``He came up and asked me what was happening,'' said ALE Agent Pat Forbis. ``We had a warrant for him, and we arrested him on the spot.''
Because many of the suspects live transient lifestyles, Pierce said, it was difficult for officers to track them down. ``They can be in one trailer one week, another the next, and then someone's house the next.''
Sixteen suspects may seem like a small number of arrests, when compared to December's Dare County raid. Hemilright put it in perspective.
``This is a small county, with only 3,900 people,'' Hemilright said. ``That's about one drug dealer for every 250 people. And that's not all of them. As a result of this investigation, we've found some new suspects that we knew were involved as users, but not as dealers.''
The investigation utilized an undercover informant who established residency in the county. Most of the drug activity occurred within 100 yards of either side of Columbia's main drag, U.S. 64, police said.
``It may seem like a high percentage to have one in every 250 involved in drugs,'' Forbis said. ``But that means there are 249 folks out there trying to do right.''
Hemilright said drug activity has been on the rise in Tyrrell County since the state cut off funding for a county drug task force.
``We had it up and going for about two years,'' Hemilright said. ``It took that long to get things going well, and then we got shut down. But we're thankful that ALE came in here. Without them, this would not have happened.''
The Tyrrell County Sheriff's Department has seven full-time officers. It set aside $3,000 in its budget for drug investigations. That money funded Friday's raid.
Forbis said that like last year's Dare County sweep, the Tyrrell drug community has ties to Hampton Roads, and beyond.
``It's like a snake with one body, and a whole lot of heads,'' Forbis said. ``It's in Hertford, Edenton, Elizabeth City. Drugs are now part of the fabric of all of our communities. Until we get enough resources, all we can do is slow it down.''
KEYWORDS: DRUG ARREST NORTH CAROLINA by CNB