Cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, suspected methamphetamine, acid, magic mushrooms, hash, marijuana, suspected ecstasy.

That's part of the list of seized drugs on display at the Kimberley detachment last Friday as the Kimberley/Cranbrook Detachment presented the results of a months-long drug investigation.

Also on display was packaging paraphernalia and weapons such as brass knuckles.

Media Officer Cpl. Pat Prefontaine spoke to the press on Friday, May 4,and reported that 25 arrests on drug-related charges, 19 of those for trafficking, have been forwarded to Crown Counsel.

"We would like the residents of Kimberley and Cranbrook to know that police are very aware of illicit drugs being bought and sold in both cities and we are taking an active stance," he said.

One disturbing aspect among many, he said, was that some of those arrested were in their mid to late teens.

"Some arrests were high-school-aged," he said. "Our investigators found that these people are more than willing to sell to us and our children. If you have the money, they will sell the drugs."

The arrests were part of local initiative by the Kimberley/Cranbrook Detachment, using plain-clothes officers and other resources. Some of the displayed drugs were the result of search warrants, others were seized from people.

He said the drug deals were occurring at all times of day, in many different places. One person was arrested selling drugs in the parking lot of a daycare in Cranbrook during operating hours, another selling drugs on the grounds of Selkirk Secondary in Kimberley, after school hours. In the case of Selkirk, the dealers happened to live quite close to school grounds, Prefontaine said.

Prefontaine said that police wanted citizens to see what had been taken off the streets in just a few months.

"The value of the drugs on the table is in the thousands of dollars," he said. "And this is not all of them.

"We stepped up enforcement a few months ago. We recognize we have a problem here. Drugs are out there. We encourage anyone with any knowledge of someone dealing or selling to contact us. Or call CrimeStoppers."

He says that the Kimberley/Cranbrook area is no different from anywhere else in the province in terms of drug problems. He does say however, that the presence of heroin is a disturbing trend.

He also said that some of the cocaine has been sent to a lab as it was a strange colour and could be mixed with some unknown substance.

Earlier this year deaths in Vancouver and Calgary were related to tainted ecstasy.

Some of those charged are already through the court system, others are in the process of being forwarded to the Crown.

CrimeStoppers can be reached at 1-800-222-TIPS, the Cranbrook Detachment at 1-250-489-3471 and the Kimberley Detachment at 250-427-4811.