By Jenny Lynn Zappala
Enterprise writer
The South Snohomish County Narcotics Task Force is serious about gardening.
Patrol officers arrest suspects almost every day for selling or transporting drugs in Snohomish and King counties. Too often, that drug dealer is quickly replaced by someone else, said Lynnwood police Sgt. Nelson. He asked that his first name and the names of the other five task force members be withheld because they often work undercover.
“There is somebody willing to take the risk,” by selling drugs, Nelson said.
As with weeds, a more effective method to stop drug dealers is to rip up the organization from the roots and police say that means making arrests and seizing large quantities of drugs to disrupt the suppliers.
The task force pulled some hefty weeds last year. Officers with the group arrested 66 suspects and seized 186 pounds of marijuana, 15 pounds of cocaine and almost nine pounds of methamphetamine in 2005.
“We have the ability to focus and build (cases) and tie them together and try to go after the bigger issue, the bigger crime or the entire organization instead of a person or an incident,” Nelson said.
The task force received a special recognition from the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration for its accomplishments in 2005 as well as working cooperation with national and international investigations.
“It was nice to be recognized,” Nelson said. “It has been a good partnership with the DEA.”
The job is not as glamorous or exciting as the TV cops shows, Nelson said. There is a lot of paperwork, meticulous analysis and surveillance. It can take months or years to make an arrest and prepare a case for trial. Some residents get frustrated because they think nothing is happening, Nelson said.
“(The law) protects the rights of the people who are honest citizens,” Nelson said. “Mere suspicion is not enough for us to enter someone’s house and start to look around.”
Catching drug dealers does more than get illegal drugs off of the street. According to police reports, drug dealers and addicts routinely commit other crimes – such as automobile theft, burglary, shoplifting, identify theft and assault – while buying, selling or using drugs.
Mountlake Terrace Police Chief Scott Smith cited the case file of a suspect who lived near Lake Ballinger as an example. Patrol officers responded to that street at least twice a week because of car prowls, abandoned stolen cars or civil disturbances. Neighbors suspected the man was selling drugs.
The narcotics task force and Mountlake Terrace police worked together on the investigation, which included undercover police officers purchasing drugs from a suspect. After six months, police obtained a search warrant and arrested a Mountlake Terrace man for selling illegal drugs.
That neighborhood has been quiet ever since, Smith said.
“It was a great partnership with patrol and task force,” Smith said. “We do not go there anymore. We don’t find needles and guns any more.”
The challenge of another drug dealer springing up, another stash of drugs in Snohomish County, remains. This area is especially active because Interstate 5 is a major route for drug dealers between Canada and Mexico, Nelson said.
“There are a lot of drugs everywhere,” Nelson said. “Some people want to think it is just Seattle. It is just LA. It is not.”
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