LONDON, Ohio — Rural police say drug dealers seem to be shifting to their communities from big cities, in part because small-town forces lack the money or manpower to run covert operations needed for drug enforcement.

        Drug arrests are up in this community of 8,700 people 25 miles west of Columbus — and in other small towns nationwide, authorities say.

        FBI records show drug-related arrests declined by 11 percent in big cities in the past five years while increasing more than 10 percent in rural areas, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

        “You want to deal drugs?” said Peter Tobin, of the narcotics division of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. “You gonna take your chances in a city with hundreds of officers and dozens who solely monitor drug activity, or are you going to head to the town where three cops take turns patrolling in one cruiser? That's a no-brainer.”

        London Police Chief Michael Creamer said he was aware of the increase even before Madison County authorities indicted 25 people in April.

        “It was clear that the drug trade here was getting heavier,” Chief Creamer told the newspaper.

        “We had one guy selling here and one guy selling there, and they were starting to compete for business.”

        Working with other law-enforcement agencies, Chief Creamer and his officers began rounding up suspects April 26, arresting nine of the 25. More arrests followed in the next four months in Ohio, Florida and West Virginia.

        A study last year by an arm of the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed that drug dealers are taking more of their operations away from Ohio cities.

        “A rock of crack cocaine costs more when the supply is less,” Mr. Tobin said, “so a guy can make a lot better living selling dope out in Timbuktu.”

        “You better believe the drug dealers are networked,” Chief Creamer said, “so we better be, too.”

Whole lot of flapping going on
Military service rare on delegation
Evendale plan riles firms
Expansion could be empty promise
Markers tell Ohio history
Ministry to gays draws protests
Obituary: C.S. Luck, mayor of Silverton
Tristate A.M. Report
Where are the speed humps?
BRONSON: Hate crimes
He helps India's poor
New Lebanon high school provides for future growth
Drug busts rise in small towns
Justice hopefuls: Don't assume
Ky. universities, colleges see enrollment increase
Recent deaths recall unsolved killing