More than 50 held in Phoenix during 2-day drug crackdown

by Michael Ferraresi - Aug. 29, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic .

Neighborhood tipsters helped police develop information over the past few months to arrest more than 50 people Friday as part of a two-day drug-enforcement crackdown near Metrocenter in northwest Phoenix.

The 87 indictments for drugs, auto thefts and other property crimes came on the heels of two other major crime-suppression announcements.

Earlier this week, Phoenix police and the FBI announced more than 60 arrests and 100 indictments of gang associates in connection to drug operations that reached to the East Coast.

The arrests Friday were the result of a three-month investigation by Neighborhood Enforcement Team officers prompted by resident complaints about "tweakers," drugs and property crime at three apartment complexes near 35th Avenue and Bethany Home Road.

Phoenix police Cmdr. Benny Pina, who oversees the northeast Phoenix Cactus Park Precinct, said his officers worked primarily in plainclothes to arrest drug suspects on the street as part of Operation Eradication. He and other officials credited community groups for flagging police with concerns about burglaries, neighborhood blight and other drug-related activity in the area.

"They know the information we relay to them is accurate and correct, and they follow up on it," said Sherry Dudek, a leader in the Cactus Park Community Alliance. "Whether the tweakers are out at night or during the day, it's a constant thing."

After noticing a 6 percent spike in violent crime, Pina said police began looking closer at an area south of Peoria Avenue and north of Northern Avenue between 35th and 27th avenues.

Phoenix Public Safety Manager Jack Harris announced violent crime is down 16 percent since the first half of 2008. This week's raids involved efforts from Maricopa County agencies and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon credited residents who "instinctively, personally" flagged police about crime. "The city is watching where crime is, where crime has been subdued or eliminated," Gordon said. "We always do that. That's what we've been about."

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoe ... s0829.html