Hundreds in Miami Feel ‘Sting’ of Cocaine, Pot Raids

Police swarmed over seven Miami neighborhoods and made more than 250 arrests in what authorities said was the largest sting operation yet against illegal drug traffic in South Florida.

About 170 uniformed and plain-clothes officers were involved in the crackdown on both sellers and buyers of crack, a potent, solid form of cocaine, and of “nickel-and-dime bags” of cocaine and marijuana, officials said.

“I’m very pleased,” Miami Police Chief Clarence Dickson said. “We took over every hot spot in the city to make this work.”

Most of the arrests were made Friday night or Saturday morning, as motorists and pedestrians approached undercover officers to buy drugs from them.

“We’re trying to discourage the open drug market--the blatant sales that happen right out in the open. That’s where the drug market has gone--from the inside to outside,” Dickson said.

“The popular drug is crack. That’s about all people are asking for these days,” he said.

Broward County officers conducted raids of smaller scope in the Fort Lauderdale area.

The sweeps were part of a continuing crackdown that the street narcotics unit of the Miami police began last April. So far, there have been 27 of the sting operations and a total of 2,595 arrests.

Dickson said he is amazed that people continue to use cocaine despite recent warnings that it may be dangerous to health.

“It makes you wonder--after all the publicity about what it does to you--why people still buy and use the stuff,” Dickson said. “I guess it’s like an automobile accident--everybody thinks it’s going to happen to the other person.”