Warrant sweep nets 33 arrests
Warrant sweep nets 33 arrests
By JANE NORDBERG, DMG Writer
GWINN — Detectives from the Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team, along with several local, state and county officers, arrested 33 people in five counties during a 16-hour arrest warrant sweep Thursday.
UPSET, an undercover narcotics team brought in to assist in life-threatening situations, is comprised of six different state and local agencies.
Det. Lt. Jeff Racine reported that over 62 arrests were made in Baraga, Alger, Marquette, Delta and Schoolcraft counties.
“This was definitely a case where a coordinated effort really paid off,” said Racine.
State, county and local law enforcement agencies along with county prosecutors participated in the effort, he said, which helped to locate suspects who tend to move from place to place.
“People who are wanted on warrants don’t stay in one place very long, particularly in the summer,” he said. “By putting our information together, we were able to pick up more people in a shorter amount of time.”
Working in teams had its advantages, Racine said, as a uniformed officer would stay in an unmarked car while a plain-clothes UPSET detective approached a suspect’s home or business.
“If (a suspect sees) an officer, they’ll not answer the door or they’ll run out the back,” Racine explained. “With a plain-clothes detective there, they might think it’s somebody just looking for directions.”
The multi-county sweep was planned a few weeks ago, Racine said.
Local prosecutors added extra personnel to assist UPSET in the operation, and many law enforcement officers came in on their vacation time or worked overtime for free in order to make the sweep successful, he said.
“There was a tremendous amount of loyalty and dedication shown by these officers in all of these other agencies,” Racine said. “The sweep not only arrested a lot of people but also helped the camaraderie as we had to work together to do the same job.”
While the agencies involved considered the sweep a great success, Racine said that the number of arrests did confirm what the UPSET team has been saying for years, that there is a growing drug problem in the Upper Peninsula.
UPSET has arrested 50 percent more people so far in 2006 than it has in all of 2005.
“As (methamphetamine) use has grown around the country, it has grown in the U.P. as well,” said Racine. Whereas drugs such as cocaine and heroin require importation, a meth lab can be set up in a remote area under relatively little suspicion.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, there are an estimated 1.4 million methamphetamine abusers in the United States.
“Prescription drugs, too, are being abused, particularly by high school and college kids,” who either steal them or trade them for other drugs such as heroin or crack cocaine, he said.
In addition, drug use is not just an isolated problem, he said, stating that 70 percent of the violent crimes across the country are drug-related.
“We can link this to marital problems, family problems and domestic abuse,” he said.“It really affects everyone.”
Because the UPSET team operates undercover, he said, even law enforcement can be surprised by the amount of drug abuse prevalent in the area.
“We see behind the scenes what’s going on and it’s shocking even to local law enforcement,” Racine said. “The drug problem in the U.P. is much worse than most people think it is.”
To report drug activity in your area, contact UPSET at 800-882-8202.
Jane Nordberg can be reached at jnordberg@mininggazette.com
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