NEW FLIGHTS BOON TO SANIKILUAQ DRUG SMUGGLERS

"It's Disturbing For A Community Of 800, Especially The Crack Cocaine."

Drugs such as crack cocaine, along with illegal alcohol, have been
pouring into Sanikiluaq since April 1, when Kivalliq Air started a new
scheduled air service from Winnipeg.

Before April 1, the Government of Nunavut chartered Kivalliq Air's
planes to carry patients in and out of Sanikiluaq for medical
treatment. Then, all bags were searched regularly in Winnipeg.

But when Kivalliq Air launched a scheduled air service April 1, on a
16-seater, twin-engine Beech aircraft, security checks on passenger
luggage came to a halt.

That's when the quantity of drugs and alcohol now flooding into
Sanikiluaq began to increase, police say.

Alerted by a tip from the public, police got lucky July 29, when they
seized 509 grams of marijuana wrapped in plastic, 1.4 grams of crack
cocaine in aluminum foil and two mickeys of rum from a woman returning
to Sanikiluaq from Winnipeg on a Kivalliq Air flight.

"It's disturbing for a community of 800, especially the crack
cocaine," said Cpl. Paul Robinson of the Sanikiluaq RCMP detachment.

The drugs and booze were found in carry-on luggage. A search of the
woman's home later turned up more illegal alcohol.

The street value of the seizure is estimated at about $30,000, making
it the largest haul to date in Sanikiluaq, where pot sells for $60 a
gram. It was the first time police in Sanikiluaq have seized crack
cocaine, known for its highly addictive qualities.

The drugs and alcohol enter Sankiluaq mainly via Winnipeg flights,
because passengers who fly to the community via Montreal's Trudeau
airport must go through a stiff security check.

But in Winnipeg, Kivalliq Air flights leave from a separate terminal
where there is no airport security system.

And now that Kivalliq Air provides scheduled, rather than chartered,
service to the community, medical travel clients are subject to fewer
controls. This means the airline can't search passengers' bags or
bring in drug-sniffing dogs, as they did in the past.

Penny Triggs, vice-president of Kivalliq Air, said airline staff may
only search passengers if they are suspected of carrying dangerous
items, such as weapons.

Drug searches aren't legal unless a search warrant has been obtained
beforehand.

This also applies to other security procedures regularly carried out
at other Canadian airports, where security officers are only allowed
to search for items that may not be carried on aircraft, such as guns,
liquids and knives.

Trigg said Kivalliq Air regularly sends the RCMP lists of passengers
on its flights and calls with information if they see anything suspicious.

"We would like to help. But about the only way we can help is to alert
the RCMP," said Triggs, calling the explosion of drug and alcohol
trafficking "difficult" and an "unfortunate problem that all the
communities are facing."

Triggs suggested that the solution to improve security could be for
the Government of Nunavut to pay for on-site security officers. These
security officers might discourage drugs and alcohol from being
carried on flights.

However, providing pre-flight security checks isn't part of the
Kivalliq Air's contract with the GN, Triggs said.

Drugs and alcohol also arrive in Sanikiluaq by mail from Montreal and
by air cargo.

"It's going to come in somehow, but we need help," Cst. Robinson
said.

Sanikiluaq is coping with increasing amount of drugs and booze and
growing numbers of addicted residents, he said.

"It's sad, really, the amount of people who are dependent on drugs
like marijuana in this community. It's expensive and there are a lot
of people here who are living below the poverty line, and
unfortunately a lot of money that could be going to the food and
clothing for children is going for drugs," Robinson said.

Alcohol gets smuggled into Sanikiluaq regularly, and its abuse leaves
to the "darker side" of life in the community.

"That's the problem that we face every day," Robinson
said.

As it stands now, the only way police can carry out searches for drugs
and alcohol is after receiving tips from the public, which can be used
to support search warrant requests. "We can't just do it randomly,"
Robinson said.

(Name redacted), 36, will appear in court in Sanikiluaq on September 29
to face charges of possession and possession for the purposes of
trafficking laid in connection with the July 29 seizure.