RCMP SAY DRUG RINGS MORE SOPHISTICATED

OTTAWA (CNS) -- Organized crime is continuing to fuel the drug trade
in Canada and a new report notes that criminal organizations are
branching out and becoming more sophisticated.

"These organizations are powerful, well-connected and are dealing in
high profit-yielding illicit ventures across the globe," said the
RCMP's Drug Situation Report 2006, released Monday.

The annual report is based on seizure data and investigations
conducted by the RCMP and other enforcement agencies.

The report found that organized crime is a driving force behind an
expanding drug trade in Canada. Whereas in previous years criminal
groups specialized in just one drug, they are now spreading out and
involved in dealing multiple drugs, both importing and exporting.

The report provides an overview of the drug trade in Canada and
highlights new and emerging trends.

Cannabis products -- which include marijuana and hashish -- represent
the world's largest illicit drug market, with approximately 160
million customers around the world. That market, specifically the
production of marijuana, is flourishing in Canada, according to the
RCMP report. Demand for pot is high both at home and abroad,
particularly in the United States, the report found.

Statistics Canada however, reported a decrease of four per cent in
cannabis-related offences in 2006. The RCMP study said there has been
a noticeable decline of pot seizures in British Columbia since 2003
but that the number of seizures in Ontario and Quebec remain stable.
Those three provinces are responsible for 90 per cent of the
marijuana grown in Canada.

The report noted several emerging trends in 2006 in the marijuana
market. Among them, it found that crime groups are producing
increasingly potent marijuana and that there's a shift towards using
private aircraft for smuggling drugs between British Columbia and the
United States.