A war between police and drug traffickers doesn't exist, according to a senior officer.
"We're fighting a holding battle, shall we say, against drug traffickers," said Sgt. Pete Sadler of Vancouver Police Department Drug Squad. "There is a war going on between drug traffickers themselves.
"They are killing each other for supply lines and territory but that doesn't involve the police."
Instead, Sadler is one of 28 officers devoted to disrupting the mid-level drug trade by targeting those who supply drugs to street-level dealers.
After 28 years of service and more than 4,000 arrest of drug traffickers, Sadler says stronger sentences are needed to gain the upper hand.
"We can criticize the Americans, but their federal level of sentencing is much higher there," he said. "We haven't tried it here. Why not give it a shot?"
