Drug Buyers
A few weeks ago I read that rival gangs of cocaine dealers have turned the small district near Cadillac and Robertson into a war zone in which residents are afraid to leave their homes (Metro, Nov. 24). The situation was said to be beyond police control because the dealers use gang members and children as runners to deliver the cocaine to customers lining up in their cars. When the runners are arrested they are quickly replaced.
In these transactions there are the dealers, the cocaine and the customers. I have read that the police cannot control the number of dealers nor the supply of cocaine so what target is left? I have also read that almost all cocaine is of foreign origin--it is smuggled into the U.S. Buying smuggled goods is a federal offense.
A couple of months ago I read that a federal law can be used to confiscate the cars of persons transporting narcotics, the quantity and distance are immaterial. The confiscation is immediate not a protracted legal battle.
If the drivers lining up to buy cocaine are stopped five feet past the point of sale and then have their cars confiscated for transporting narcotics, I suspect that the number of customers can be diminished. Without customers there is no business to fight over.
JONATHAN BEGGS
Sherman Oaks
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