Santa Monica : 50 Arrested in Drug Sting
Santa Monica police have arrested more than 50 people on drug-related charges at Palisades Park in the last week in a stepped-up effort to drive drug dealers out of the area.
Officers posing as drug buyers made the arrests after receiving continuing complaints of drug dealing in the park, said Sgt. Bill Brucker, public information officer.
Most of those arrested were either homeless people living in the park or residents coming to the park from the downtown area, Brucker said. Rock cocaine was the main drug offered to the officers, he said.
“It seems that for the moment we have detoured most of the drug dealing in that park and we do have plans at some time to do a reverse operation and pose as sellers to the buyers and arrest them. That way we can cut down on the people who are coming there to buy drugs as well as those who are selling,” Brucker said.
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