ORGANIZED CRIME DRIVES EXPANDING DRUG TRADE, RCMP ANNUAL REPORT SAYS

(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 yesterday.

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 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 toward using
private aircraft for smuggling drugs between British Columbia and the
United States.