Guy Quenneville
Northern News Services
Friday, June 22, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The RCMP visited Sir John Franklin high school and St. Patrick high school last week to warn teachers about a cocaine-dealing Edmonton crime gang named the Crazy Dragons that has been known to recruit high school students.

"We're getting intelligence that these guys are here," said Sgt. Larry O'Brien. "They're known, from past behaviors in other communities in Alberta, to target high school students to get involved in their illegal activities. We went to the high schools to basically advise the teachers that this is happening here in town and that they should be aware of it, and to let us know what kind of activities they're seeing at their schools."

Some teachers who attended the sessions were not surprised at what they heard, said O'Brien.

"Certainly some of the teachers had information of activities of students that, when we gave them the information we had, they were able to put two-and-two together and say, 'Okay, this is what's been going on.'

"It was a confirmation for them in some ways."

Efforts to combat the Crazy Dragons won't stop at these information sessions, added O'Brien.

"We are planning - in the immediate future - information sessions for parents and kids alike here in Yellowknife," he said. "We haven't settled on a date or exact location yet, but...within the next few days, we'll be making that public."

O'Brien also indicated that several Crazy Dragon members operating in Yellowknife have been jailed and charged with various drug and Criminal Code offences.

The Crazy Dragons first formed sometime in the early 1990s and "have been operational in Yellowknife for several years," said Kevin Galvin, staff sergeant in charge of the Edmonton Police Service's gang unit.

Galvin said he does not know of any attempts to recruit Yellowknife high school students, but he says that, historically, it has been the group's "M.O." to recruit high school students to work as delivery drivers during 10-hour shifts.

It's all part of a system nicknamed "Dial-a-Doper" - present in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, lower British Columbia and even in Yellowknife - in which Crazy Dragon customers phone their dealer at a predetermined number, the dealer in turn sending the driver to deliver the drugs.

"A lot like a pizza delivery guy," said Galvin.

Galvin said high school students make ideal delivery people because "historically, a teenager driving a car has not been suspicious to the authorities."

Galvin added that Crazy Dragon members often encourage their high school recruits to deal drugs inside their schools, and are known to provide whatever support is needed "to muscle out the competition."

A lot of Yellowknife high schoolers are aware of the Crazy Dragons and their intentions, according to one female student of Range Lake North school who will be going on to Sir John this fall.

"The Crazy Dragons is actually a big crack/coke gang down in Alberta that is actually coming up here to take over a lot of the drugs up here," she said.

Rumours of the Crazy Dragons expanding into Yellowknife and targeting high school students "kind of" concern her.

But, she says, "If you get to know a lot about it, and you know what people to stay away from, and who's doing what, then you'll know, and it's not really going to bother you much."

The girl - who said she was into marijuana and ecstasy "pretty bad" two years ago - has heard the Crazy Dragons also deal some marijuana - which is already commonly available to high school students, she said.

"Walk through the mall and there will be about 50 people, if they know you smoke weed or anything, asking you if you want to buy a gram or something.

"It's a really big problem especially because a lot of the older people are smoking marijuana in front of their kids, and it teaches their kids that it's right to do it, and then they get into it, and then their kids. It keeps going on."

Asked where she heard all of this, she said, "My brothers and sisters, cousins, family, and my Dad."

She said there should be an open dialogue between teachers and students about drugs.

"The more you know, the safer you are. Because you can end up going around, saying something wrong, and you can either end up dead or in the hospital."