AMY SZPARA

LAPLACE – Tuesday night’s drug bust, termed “Operation Come Back INN,” got 18 suspected drug dealers off the LaPlace streets and sent a man St. John Sheriff Wayne L. Jones named one of the biggest dope dealers in the parish back to prison. However, the name of the operation had a local restaurant manager a little worried about what it might do to his business. Come Back Inn Restaurant in LaPlace has been a thriving place of business in the area for two-and-a-half years, but manager B.B. Lingle said he was a little perturbed when he learned the recent drug bust had the same name as his place of business. According to Capt. Mike Tregre of the St. John Sheriff’s Office, the name of the operation had nothing to do with the restaurant. The drug bust was titled “Come Back INN” because a lot of the arrested dealers are repeat offenders and they are coming back into prison, he said. Still, Lingle wished they would have chosen a different name. He does, however, have a sense of humor about the situation. He laughed and said, “There are no drug dealers here.” A restaurant located just behind Wal-Mart on Carrollwood Drive, Come Back Inn Restaurant specializes in local flavors and caters to families. They also have an upstairs banquet room which is often occupied by local officials and community members for large functions. “I understand they are trying to get repeat offenders off the streets,” said Lingle about the recent operation, “and that is a good name for that. Maybe the person who came up with it was a fan of the restaurant.” Part of a small chain, the LaPlace restaurant is the third Come Back Inn, with locations in Kenner and Metairie. “Basically, we try to run a family establishment here and have nothing to do with the drug trade,” Lingle said. “If people associated that with us, they may want to stay away.” Lingle said he wanted the public to know they have nothing to do with any drug activity. “We enjoy being here in LaPlace. I even moved out here. I’m a resident now,” he said. According to Tregre, the names of drug bust operations relate to the type of people they are looking for, the type of season it is and the mission of the operation. The recent operation was named after the types of individuals they were arresting, which were mostly habitual offenders coming back in to prison. Tregre said they are planning to soon arrest more people on distribution charges.