By Michael Bielawski
The Burlington Police are reporting that they made a drug bust based on undercover work, including controlled purchases of illicit drugs.
On Thursday at about 3:00 PM, the Department’s Emergency Response Unit executed a search warrant at 64 Hyde St., concluding an investigation that included “several controlled purchases of narcotics.”
Gregory Barreda, 49, of Burlington, was arrested and charged with several sales of cocaine and fentanyl possession. Korey Koch, 35, of Burlington, was also arrested. She had an active arrest warrant for violating probation.
14 failures to appear
Barreda has a lengthy record. Koch’s record shows 14 failures to appear in court, two felony convictions, and 12 misdemeanor convictions. She was lodged on a violation of probation warrant.
Repeat offenders have been a political headache in Montpelier as some argue for tougher penalties, whereas others argue for more social services. In January, Gov. Phil Scott highlighted the need for new legislation.
“Holding people accountable might lead to fewer people actually being arrested, doing some of the crimes,” he said.
Undercover work
There has been other undercover work across Vermont this year, including in March, KVS reported that an alleged fentanyl dealer was caught in Weathersfield with the help of a confidential informant.
“The arrest stemmed from a months-long investigation by detectives with the Vermont Drug Task Force into ‘the distribution of fentanyl and cocaine’ within the Town of Weathersfield. The investigation involved ‘the use of confidential informants who purchased fentanyl from McAllister,” the report stated.
In another incident reported by NBC News in January, there was a drug bust including cocaine, fentanyl, a grenade launcher, and more.
NBC reported, “State police said the search was part of an investigation into the distribution and trafficking of cocaine and fentanyl in Chittenden, Washington, and Windsor Counties. Inside, they said they found 1,020 grams of Cocaine, 5.7 grams of fentanyl, multiple firearms, including an unregistered and homemade ‘ghost gun,’ a grenade launcher, and 17 pugs.”
Advantages of undercover work
According to the US Department of Justice, undercover work allows for information to be gathered that would be otherwise inaccessible.
Their report states, “Undercover tactics provide police information and arrests not otherwise available, given the absence of a complainant, the skill and tight organization of a criminal group, or the conditions under which a crime is committed. Although the deterrent effect of undercover police work has not been adequately documented, in theory, it may deter some offenders, since a potential victim, client, or supplier could be an undercover police person.”
The report continues about the risks of the work, including that if undercover work is not regulated properly, it can be abused.
“Invasion of privacy, possible false testimony, corruption, and entrapment are some of the potential abuses of undercover police work,” it states. “The acceptability of police undercover tactics should hinge on the nature of the offense, the context, and the nature of police undercover behavior.”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
