Actor Brad Renfro is one of 14 arrested yesterday while attempting to buy heroin on Los Angeles' Skid Row. Undercover officers posed as dealers and used the code " Christmas is cancelled" to alert nearby uniformed officers to make the arrest. This comes after monday's sad news that 3 homeless people OD'ed on what was eithera atainted or extra strong batch of heroin.
The police admit that thursday's busts will due little to stop area drug trafficiking, but said that they hope the hihgly publicized nature of this sting will discourage people from other parts of the city from coming downtown to buy drugs.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-skidrow23dec23,0,1814307.story?coll=la-home-headlines
I am glad to see increased enforcement, but I wish they would focus more on the dealers then the buyers. Although I guess it does make sense, if they can discourage people from coming downtown to buy drugs then there is less of a market, and the number of dealers would decrease. I just don't like to see people who are addicted get caught up in the criminal justice system while the dealers who prey on them are often ignored.
However further operations are planned against the street dealers. Which its about time. Skid row is less then a few square miles, yet it makes up 20% of LA's drug crime.
