with several arrests being made. Royal Gazette reporter Patrick Burgess accompanied the Police on one such raid over the weekend. Here he gives an account of how the bust went. Standing in her doorway still dressed in her nightclothes, a woman waved as a convoy of Police cars drove by. The rest of her sleepy Pembroke neighbourhood was oblivious to the dawn raid that the Police had just carried out on a notorious crack cocaine den. Here on the edge of Hamilton, for weeks and months now, residents have had to put up with the comings and goings of dozens of addicts desperately looking for a fix. With one neighbour now in custody following Saturday morning's bust, they may get some relief -- but not much. A Police team, made up of Narcotics, Central Uniform and the drug sniffing dog Max and his handler, carried out the raid on the apartment and came away with one arrest. Two crack pipes and other items which Max had sniffed out were also seized in the raid. These will now be sent to the Government Analyst to be tested for the presence of drug residue, which if positive, will result in a court appearance. But there were ten other men who were in the two room apartment when the Police swooped. All were detained and searched on suspicion of drug use but were released after radio checks to Headquarters showed none of them had warrants issued against their names.

Under the law, being in a crack den is not a crime. Some junior officers noted that, had the raid been carried out earlier in the morning, the team may have been able to catch the addicts red-handed in the process of smoking crack.

This, they argued, would have resulted in more arrests and perhaps a bigger seizure of drugs and equipment. But according to a senior officer, dawn was the best time to catch anyone there unaware and thus avoid a confrontation.

The timing of the raid was chosen for the safety of both the officers and the people in the apartment and the fact that at 6 a.m. there would not have been any lookouts to warn the inhabitants that Police were in the area. The Inspector in charge said: "This lets them know we're active.'' The team, consisting of about a dozen officers held their breath in the dark, dank rooms with their strong smells of body odour and God knows what else. One burly cop, his knife proof vest heaving from exertion, wondered what it would be like to want to be in such an environment. "Can you imagine what it is like to want to be in there?'' he asked "To not want to see the sun rise, or get fresh air, or go about a regular life. It makes you wonder. "People don't realise that there are places like this in Bermuda. It is a mess in there. But these people are addicted -- this is what they do.'' Other officers commented on the overflowing trash and filth in the apartment but notably, they were careful not to step on the mattresses on the floor. The man who was arrested was heard to tell Police "I smoked it all last night'' and admitted the crack pipes were his. The raid began with an extensive briefing at Hamilton Police Station. Radios were checked, driving plans reviewed and each officer was given a special role. One was to be the search officer responsible for checking for drugs each person found in the apartment. Another important role was the "scribe'' or note taker, who would be relied upon to prepare any summary about the raid for higher ups or for evidence in the courts.

5 Winning the drugs war The rest of the officers acted as security both inside and outside the apartment.

Several had rushed the door as a man was heard to say: "All that noise ain't necessary!'' One man smiled as he recognised the Royal Gazette reporter who accompanied Police but said nothing.

He and the others sat quietly in handcuffs -- confident they would not be arrested.

One was still wearing a work uniform, the name of his employer visible for all to see.

Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, Police have the powers to search and detain a person in a suspected drug den without probable cause.

On the street, an officer must have "reasonable grounds'' of suspicion to conduct a body search.

The only noises of the operation one could hear at the other end of the property was the neighbour's dog barking at Max and the warning sound of a Police radio battery as it ran out.

Within an hour it was all over and the arrested man, a tenant, was being led away to an awaiting Police car.

He complained that the warrant on which he had also been picked up on was spent, saying he had already "served time'' for the offence.

He yawned loudly and contemptuously as he was put into the car. Others drove away or stayed put in the apartment.

Max's owner got a handshake and the officers returned to Hamilton Police Station to begin the lengthy process of paperwork and potential court case.

It was just one more lightning raid in the long running drug war.

Later, another senior officer said the raid and others like it are a matter of taking back the streets and his team is committed to the "significant alleviation'' of the scourge of drugs.

DRUGS DGS