COCAINE CENTRAL

Smugglers Have Turned Metro Into A Global Distribution Hot Spot

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, says an internal Canada Border
Services Agency report.

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 the past few 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.

It notes, for example, that one of the largest cocaine seizures ever
in Australia -- 135 kilograms hidden in a shipping container --
originated in Vancouver and that five of those arrested were current
or former B.C. residents.

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 CBSA's intelligence unit, notes the use
of trucks to smuggle cocaine is a major shift from just a few years
ago, when the Toronto airport was the destination of choice for
cocaine smugglers.

"Whereas, most cocaine used to be imported through Toronto airport on
the backs, packs and bags of travellers, there has been an increase
in land-based imports using commercial tractor-trailer units [and to
a lesser extent, automobiles]," it states.

As recently as 2002, the report notes, 70 per cent of all the cocaine
seized in Canada was discovered at the country's airports. That
figure is now less than 25 per cent.

CBSA spokeswoman Paula Shore said the agency's officers seized 570 kg
of cocaine in the Pacific region last year, compared with just 184 kg in 2005.

And 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.

Insp. Brian Cantera, operations officer for the RCMP's Greater
Vancouver Drug Section, said his unit has noticed a sharp increase in
cocaine exportation in B.C. since 2005.

"I would suggest that cocaine is distributed arguably worldwide from
Vancouver," he said.

However, Cantera said he believes cocaine smugglers are also using
border crossings in Ontario and Quebec.

In fact, the CBSA report notes the spike in B.C. cocaine seizures,
which began in 2006, was followed by a similar increase at the
Windsor, Ont., crossing in 2007.

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.

That's because drug gangs in B.C. increasingly accept payment from
U.S. customers in the form of cocaine, which they then bring back
into Canada to sell or export elsewhere.

Interestingly, the CBSA 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.

It also may be marginally easier to sneak across the border, said the
CBSA report.

"A one kilo brick of cocaine takes up much less space than the
equivalent amount of $20 bills," it states.

The report also includes some details on the types of people the CBSA
is catching.

In the past, many of the truckers arrested for drug smuggling were
new immigrants from India who police said were being exploited by drug gangs.

However, the CBSA report notes that, since late 2005, the agency has
been arresting far fewer foreign-born smugglers.

"A large majority of couriers are now born in Canada [more than 75
per cent] and an even greater percentage are Canadian citizens [92.8
per cent]," it states.

The report also said the smugglers caught are almost evenly split
between men and women and that many of them live in the Fraser Valley.

"One of every six cocaine couriers arrested [17.5 per cent] since
2001 gave a home address in Surrey," it states. "Abbotsford was the
second most common city of residence at 9.7 per cent and Vancouver
was third at 6.8 per cent."