use in Bermuda, senior reporter John Burchall talks to Police and Customs about the challenge of keeping the drug off the streets.

Assistant Commissioner Harold Moniz has seen better days. He is one of the few Police officers left who can remember when the drug problem was non existent.

A smattering of cannabis here and there and the odd arrest of an American or Caribbean entertainer would be the only contact he would have with the drug world as a young constable.

So when he set up the Narcotics Bureau with former Police Commissioner Frederick Bean in 1961 there wasn't that much to do.

Things stayed calm until 1967 when Bermuda got wind of the hippie era. During the flower power days, Bermuda's drug problem assumed a different shape as hallucinogens like LSD and PCP became the new norm.

Glue sniffing and inhaling the fumes of aerosol cans were now regularly happening.

Bermuda's dalliance with hard drugs had become solidified.

To face up to the challenge, Government amended the Dangerous Drugs Act (1936) which gave Police greater powers to stop and search suspected drug dealers.

The psychedelic era ended, but heroin use came in its wake.

"The first time I came across heroin in Bermuda was in 1970,'' Mr. Moniz recalled. "It was $6 a deck then and the drug stayed until around 1977 or 1978 when it became scarce. This was in the days before AIDS.

"AIDS killed the heroin trade because users were dying off in droves. The smart ones just left it alone.

"By the late 1980s and early 1990s it began to make a comeback but it was now being smoked or snorted instead of injected. Heroin was now competing with crack (a more refined and potent kind of cocaine) and so the heroin became more refined as well.'' In the mid to late 1980s, Assistant Commissioner Moniz said there was a trend toward female couriers who went to the United States from Bermuda and then on to Britain.

Once in England they would hop across to Amsterdam and pick up the drugs and return to Heathrow for the flight back to Bermuda.

"In the early 1970s we did not see much heroin at all,'' Mr. Moniz continued.

"We knew it was out there because we could send an informant to purchase heroin and he never came back empty handed.

"But heroin is sold in such small amounts it was hard to say how much is really circulating.

"We have seen people bring the drugs in on an aeroplane and then leave them on board for pick up later.'' Mr. Moniz said that of all the drugs available on Bermuda's streets, heroin scares him the most.

Heroin cause of petty crime rise "Users become so addicted that once hooked it is difficult to get off. Heroin is a killer. It is one of the most deadly items available in these islands,'' said Mr. Moniz.

Chief Insp. George Jackson, who now heads the Narcotics department, said that his officers are coming across more heroin today.

"One ounce seized is a major haul,'' he said. "Because a little bit goes a long way.

"For a dealer, the attraction is that he does not have to move huge quantities. You can conceal an ounce in a pen top.'' Mr. Moniz said that another indication of heroin's presence is the number of crimes such as burglaries, breaking and entering and stealing reported to Police.

"Once the high wears off that addict will steal from anyone to get the money for his next high,'' he said.

To stem the rising tide of heroin users, especially among teenagers, the Narcotics division has been increased. By the end of 1997 there will be 28 constables and seven sergeants on the team.

Other ingredients in the drug fight include a Memorandum of Understanding between the Customs Department and the Bermuda Police Service.

Police and Customs routinely share information and intelligence. And there are plans to work closer with neighbourhood leaders, Parent Teacher Associations and other groups.

Collector of Customs Gerry Ardis said he was extremely pleased with the relationship he shares with the Bermuda Police Service.

"We work so closely together these days and we have to work closely together because it is a win win situation for everybody.

"Each of us have our own limited resources but we share intelligence and have worked together over the last eight or nine years. Over that time it has gradually got better and better.'' Due to their combined efforts, 366.72 grams of heroin (diamorphine) was seized in 1994 and 109.32 grams were intercepted in 1995.

In 1996, 99.84 grams of heroin were confiscated. There were 17 arrests for heroin possession last year (two women and 15 men). Of that number eight were convicted.

These lower seizures make it appear that heroin is on the decline -- in contrast with the beliefs of treatment centres who are seeing larger numbers of people seeking help for heroin addiction.

Mr. Moniz is quick to acknowledge the apparent discrepancy.

He said:"I know of a three ounce seizure (worth more than $60,000 on the street) last month. And the year was barely a month old last month.

"You don't need too many seizures to reach the 99 grams we seized for 1996.

But the public has to understand that heroin is very very difficult drug to detect.

"Heroin is easier to conceal and easier to bring in. It could be that dealers are bringing in smaller quantities more frequently. A heroin mule can fit the profile of a courier and be subject to a through search and the ounce he is carrying can still not be found.

"There is no need for anyone to bring in more than an ounce. That ounce can be brought in and plenty of money can be made from that to keep things ticking over. A seller can meet his demand and his profit margins quite easily.

"The seizures we make are usually between one and three ounces but that tiny amount goes a long way on the street once it is cut down to a purity of less than five percent.'' And this, Chief Inspector Jackson said is why the Police Service is working hard to improve its relationship with the community through the parish constable scheme.

He said:"We are finding that more and more people are willing to work with us than have done so in the past.

"Many feel as though they are hostages in their own homes so we advise them to be more observant of their own children.'' Mr. Moniz added:"Heroin will kill the user eventually. If he is using heroin he will die.

"The end result is destruction whether it is the user, their family or the country.'' CRIME CRM George Jackson