Big Drug Bust by Baltimore Police
Drug Bust, Baltimore Sun photo by Gus G. Sentementes
The drug drama made nationally popular by HBO series “The Wire” comes to life in the form of a recent drug bust made by Baltimore Police. More than 90 pounds of cocaine, and $11,000 dollars in cash were seized from a Southwest Baltimore City home this past week; providing Baltimore Police with their biggest drug bust in the operations history.
Interestingly enough, the investigation didn’t take the perfunctory years and months of intelligence gathering and undercover operation; it took a matter of weeks. Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III told reports at a press conference Friday that he believed the person arrested had a wholesale operation going.
“These drugs, wherever they were destined, whether Western Maryland, the Eastern Shore or East or West Baltimore, they are affecting our communities…Forty-one kilos of cocaine will not reach the streets of our city. All of us can take some comfort in that”
The street value of the drugs was between $2 & 3 million dollars. Honestly, the biggest drug problem in Baltimore perhaps isn’t the suppliers or whole sale providers, it is the drug addicts. The city boasts an estimated 60,000 drug abusers and 8,000 drug treatment slots. City and state officials should perhaps spend the newly allocated stimulus money to create drug treatment facilities, and an educational program in schools teaching kids about drug abuse.
In the early 90’s, Baltimore had 750,000 residents and 60,000 drug abusers. Fast forward to today, and the cities population has decreased by 100,000, but the number of drug abusers has stayed pretty steady. Can we blame it on past Mayor Kurt Schmokes City Kneedle Exchange Program; which ultimately lowered the incidence of HIV in the city by 35%? Schmokes efforts to address the drug problem was not to arrest dealers or impose heavier jail sentences to offenders; but instead to decriminalize drugs altogether. Perhaps not the best method, but a more creative and
Gov. O'Malley Press Conference on AIRA; Baltimore Sun photo by Barbara Haddock Taylor
almost conscious tactic of addressing the issue.
Gov. Martin O’Malley (former Mayor of Baltimore) plans to use $84 million from the American Recover and Investment Plan (the new stimulus) to fund schools throughout the state. A wise investment after initial budgetary plans before the stimulus included a funding cut of $140 million to Baltimore City & Prince Georges County schools. Perhaps some of that cash can be used to institute drug awareness and rehabilitation programs within the schools; because Baltimore’s drug problem isn’t age specific, its multi-generational.
Why not kill two birds with one stone?
-Angel Elliott
February 21, 2009 at 3:39 pm
The drug crime problem have always been a problem for Baltimore, its corrupt officials DONT help.
P.R.