MOMS ON DRUG CHARGES

Nabbed At Pearson

Four young children -- including a five-month-old girl -- have been turned
over to the Children's Aid Society after their mothers were arrested for
drug smuggling at Pearson airport.

The RCMP said drug lords have begun using moms with youngsters as drug
couriers in an effort to distract customs officers and police. Staff-Sgt.
Jim Brown said four Toronto-area women have been arrested since March 15 as
they stepped off flights from the Caribbean.

'Reprehensible'

"I find it reprehensible that mothers would involve their children in the
drug trade," Brown said. "They run the risk of being separated from their
children."

The Mounties refused to release the identities of the women to protect the
children.

Police said the children ranged in age from five months to six years old.
Their moms, in their 20s and 30s, were arrested after arriving from Jamaica.

Sgt. Larry Foy said cocaine seizures ranged from 250 grams to 2.2 kilos and
were found in the womens' shoes, body cavities or stomachs. The drugs were
worth about $600,000.