COPS FEAR DRUGS COULD BE TAINTED

Ottawa police drug squad detectives are being warned to take extra
precautions just in case illegal drugs are used to spread anthrax or other
biological or chemical agents.

With Afghanistan a leading producer of heroin and hashish sold in Canada,
drug squad officers have been asked to be extra vigilant when handling
either drugs or any substance that they can't readily identify.

"If they decided to put biological or chemical stuff in their heroin or
hash, who knows how many people could get hurt," Staff Sgt. Marc Pineault
said yesterday. "This is war, you never know what might happen."

Pineault stressed that officers in the capital have not had any indication
that anthrax-laden heroin or hash even exists, but following terrorist
attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and biological scares in the
U.S., they need to be ready for anything.

"Everyone's got their heads up with Afghanistan being a source country and
figuring out how (terrorists) could infiltrate our society," he said.