B.C. SEEN AS A MAJOR COCAINE SMUGGLING CENTRE

Gangs Are Bringing Drug From U.S., Selling It Worldwide: Border Agency

(CNS) - B.C. has become a major hub for cocaine smuggling over the
past two years, with gangs bringing in the drug from the U.S. for
transport across Canada and around the world, a Canada Border
Services Agency report says.

The October 2007 document, obtained by the Vancouver Sun through the
Access to Information Act, said the amount of cocaine seized at land
border crossings in B.C. has tripled in recent years -- with no
apparent increase in local demand.

"There is such a large quantity of cocaine entering British Columbia
that it is now being shipped to other countries, in addition to other
provinces and territories in Canada," states the report.

Most of the cocaine seized at the border in B.C. is found stashed in
commercial trucks, often in sophisticated hidden compartments,
although the report notes "on occasion the drugs are not concealed at
all and are simply sitting inside a cardboard box in the back of the truck."

The document, prepared by the border agency's intelligence unit,
notes the use of trucks to smuggle cocaine is a major shift from just
a few years ago, when Toronto's Pearson Airport was the destination
of choice for cocaine smugglers.

Border agency spokeswoman Paula Shore said officers seized 570
kilograms of cocaine in the Pacific region last year, compared with
just 184 kilograms in 2005.

That doesn't include cocaine discovered by the RCMP between ports of
entry, or by U.S. authorities on its way to B.C., which the report
suggests brings the total amount of B.C.-bound cocaine seized each
year to more than a metric tonne.

It's not entirely clear what's behind the sudden increase in cocaine
imports to B.C.

But the report suggests part of the reason lies in the province's
booming production of marijuana, crystal meth and ecstasy for the
U.S. market. Drug gangs in B.C. increasingly accept payment from U.S.
customers in the form of cocaine, which they bring into Canada to
sell or export elsewhere.

The border agency report notes the increase in cocaine seizures at
B.C. land border crossings "has been mirrored by the equally rapid
decrease in currency seizures." Over just the past two years, the
amount of suspicious cash seized at the border in B.C. has dropped
from a monthly average of $481,000 to just $112,000.

Supt. Paul Nadeau, director of the RCMP's drug branch in Ottawa, said
drug gangs like to barter pot for cocaine because it saves them the
trouble of exchanging U.S. dollars into Canadian currency, and is
often more profitable in the long run.