$2 pages F Samed Office, Editorial 985-2131 Display Advertising 980-0511 WEDNESDA\ ‘Tempest attempt is tentative Classifieds 986-6222 ro Theatre Review: 28 Distribution 986-1337 NEWS photo Mike Wakefield NORTH VANCOUVER RCMP and the West Vancouver Police recently arrested two people in Vancouver, seizing approximately three pounds of heroin worth a street value of $3.5 million. The police had been following the pair for several weeks and believe the heroin orginated from Thailand. North and West Van police Seize $3.5 million drug cache NORTH VANCOUVER RCMP and West Vancouver Police drug squad members were congratulating themselves this week following a major heroin bust that netted over $3 million worth of pure, uncut heroin. Meanwhile, a North Vancouver Crown prosecutor who has been assigned to the case said drug ac- tivity and the violence associated with the local drug trade is in- creasing on the North Shore. On Saturday night, North Van- couver RCMP and the West Van- couver Police arrested two people in Vancouver and seized approxi- mately three pounds of heroin worth a street value of $3.5 mil- Sion. Charged with of possession By Surj Rattan News Reporter heroin for the purpose of traffick- ing are !van Pelegrin, 36, of Croatia and Marija Kokanovic, 24, of Australia. The pair were scheduled to appear in North Vancouver provincial court today for a bail hearing. North Vancouver RCMP drug squad member Const. Sylvain Leroux said the police had been following the pair for several weeks. “We're very happy. This is a very good bust. This is pure China white (heroin) and it’s very rare ihat you'll find rock heroin. In my experience, it’s been one of the largest seizures we’ve been in- volved with,”’ said Leroux. “They would probably cut this with sugar and then divide it into caps. A cap would sell for about $15."" He added that the heroin ship- ment likely originated from Thailand. Leroux said both North Vancouver RCMP and West Van- couver Police spent over three weeks on their investigation before making the arrests Saturday. “Everything started in North Vancouver and then we got West Vancouver (police) involved. Then we started following them around and followed them into Van- couver. “They’re not from here. Ac- cording to their passports, they’ve been all over the worlid."* North Vancouver Crown counsel Jay Straith, who has been prosecuting drug traffickers since 1986 and has been assigned to this case, said drug activity and drug detection have been on the rise on the North Shore for the past sev- eral years. “F’ve watched the flow of drugs increase. The other thing is that it’s becoming more violent. “*In 1986, I would say out of all the drug files there were, only two involved handguns. Today, out of ail the files, 40% involve hand- guns,”’ said Straith. He added that drug dealers who use firearms use them to fend off other drug dealers. ‘It’s the anti-competition theory. The guy with three joints of marijuana isn’t going to carry a handgun but the guy with the hydroponic operation is and peo- ple don’t understand that.”