the Narcotics Squad but the Police said they would only be prepared to answer a questionairre. They refused to answer some questions while other answers were so vague as to be meaningless. Here is an edited version of the best of the rest.

How many officers do you have? Narcotics has 23 officers, plus three customs officers.

What are their roles? We concentrate on interdiction at all borders. However we recently inherited ten officers to assist the Department in street enforcement efforts.

What role do informants play? Many of our informants are simply concerned citizens. They are not looking for compensation, but want to see this serious drug scourge eradicated.

Crimestoppers has been a tremendous help.

Why can't the obvious drug dealing areas be targeted? There are a number of areas where well known pushers deal drugs. Despite the size of Bermuda it is not that easy to simply eliminate or eradicate an area.

There are a number of issues that must be taken into consideration before an action is taken, especially if we expect success. A number of those issues I choose not to discuss at this time.

Do Police know most of the dealers? We have sufficient intelligence to identify a number of people. Because of the sensitive nature of our department there are issues I choose not to discuss publicly.

Is the war against drugs winnable? We can win the war but Bermuda must help. This is not a Police problem -- it's a national one, and with greater public co-operation we can eventually win but it will take time. Why? Because there is big money in drugs.