San Francisco, CA – San Francisco law enforcement raided an open-air drug market where traffickers and users congregated in a high-profile part of the city for the third time in two months, officials said Thursday.
The sweep occurred before daybreak Thursday near the junction of Market Street and Van Ness Avenue, which is one of the city’s most heavily trafficked areas. Police officers and Sheriff’s deputies descended on the area surrounding the All-Star Cafe, a 24-hour eatery near the Muni Metro entrance where drug sellers and users are routinely spotted lounging.
Two Sheriff’s Office busses were spotted parked on Market Street, alongside movable tables set up for deputies and officers to process individuals arrested. According to police, the raid resulted in the arrest of approximately 40 people.
San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto told CBS News Bay Area that the raid was part of law enforcement’s intensified efforts to target drug and crime hotspots throughout the city.
“We were out there continuing our efforts to disrupt the drug market areas that have been identified by the community and by all of our efforts trying to make sure we can move people along, arrest, cite, book people in for drug possession, drug use, being in a known drug area,” according to Miyamoto. “This is all part of our ongoing efforts to help clean up the streets and get the people the help that they need.”
Earlier this month, a midnight raid on 16th and Mission Street targeted illegal narcotics activity and the illegal sale of suspected shoplifted merchandise. Hours afterward, street vendors and open drug sales and use resumed as if nothing had happened, but the next week, police stationed an RV-sized mobile command unit at the scene indefinitely.
Last month, a far larger operation was launched at Jefferson Square Park, a few blocks west of City Hall, where chronic drug usage earned it the moniker “Zombie Park.” The Police Department, Sheriff’s Office, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and other agencies apprehended dozens of suspects during a joint operation.
Critics contend that these operations simply move users and dealers, relocating the problem to other neighborhoods. However, last month, Police Chief Bill Scott stated that the pressure on drug traffickers and open-air markets will continue, and that persons who repeatedly offend will be jailed rather than cited and released.
