1,700 Arrested in LAPD Anti-Drug Sweep

More than 1,700 people have been arrested in a three-month operation to sweep drug dealers off the streets of Central Los Angeles, police announced Tuesday.

“We began the operation in May, and it will go on as long as it takes for us to retake these streets and make them safe for the people who live there,” Deputy Chief Clyde L. Cronkhite said.

“Nearly 100 of those arrested are suspected heroin dealers, 63 are suspected cocaine dealers, 842 alleged marijuana dealers, 13 sold PCP and the rest are drug addicts,” said Cronkhite, commander of operations for the Central Bureau.

Many Illegal Aliens

Cronkhite said 63% of those arrested are illegal aliens. Most of them are from Mexico and El Salvador, but there have also been a few from Asian countries, he said.

“The word had got out that all these people had to do was come to this country and sell their drugs on the streets of this area of Los Angeles and they would make a pile of money,” Cronkhite said.

“We’ve tackled it in the past by putting on operations for two weeks and then ending them. That won’t happen again. This operation will continue until they get the message, ‘You come to Los Angeles to sell drugs, and you’ll be in big trouble.’ ”

The operation, covering a 150-block area, is being carried out by a special task force named Retake the Streets, Cronkhite said. The unit employs motor patrols, undercover agents, drug-sniffing dogs and even officers on horseback. It was formed after repeated complaints to the Police Department from residents near Berendo Junior High School, 1157 S. Berendo St.

Residents’ Fear Told

“The drug dealers had made life practically unlivable,” Cronkhite said. “People were afraid to let their kids out to play in the streets or go to school. They couldn’t even do their shopping. . . .”

Cronkhite said the police are working closely with officials of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to deport drug traffickers who are illegal aliens.

The growth of the drug problem has brought other crime in its wake, police said.

“There are groups of drug dealers that are bringing criminals into the country,” Cronkhite said. “One group even offers incentives to car burglars to work harder. They give free trips to Disneyland to those who steal so many radios from cars.”

Police have also asked judges for higher bail on suspects who already have criminal records.

“Usually, by the time a suspect is sentenced, he’s released on probation and given credit for time served while waiting for trial,” Detective Steve Bare said. “Now there are guys going in (to jail) for up to six or nine months without getting any time credit.”

Police said that in this week alone--the 13th of the crackdown--investigators have confiscated drugs with a street value of more than $120,000, roughly $80,000 in cash and 15 guns.

Police and INS officials met at Berendo Junior High on Tuesday evening with about 200 residents of the target area.

“We are making progress, but we still have a long way to go to make this area safe for you,” Cronkhite told the gathering, receiving wide applause.

Harold Ezell, regional commissioner of the INS, said he was aware that there might be people present at the meeting who were illegal aliens. However, he assured the group that the police sweep was not aimed at rounding up illegal aliens but at finding and arresting “criminals.”

Ezell said the INS is working with the police to assure that deportation proceedings would begin against any illegal aliens arrested for drug dealing who are found guilty.