TRUCKERS' TIP LINE AIMED AT DRUG MULES

VANCOUVER -- A new toll-free hotline will allow truckers in B.C. with
intimate knowledge of cross-border drug smuggling to tip-off police.

The number (1-888-598-####) features services in English and Punjabi.
It came on line officially yesterday and will be in place for three
months before police evaluate its success.

Cpl. Norm Massie of the RCMP "E" Division Border Integrity Unit said
the hotline is designed to allow truckers who know of compromised
colleagues and drivers who may themselves have been approached to run
drugs to call in anonymously and let police know what's going on.

"We know that the trucking industry is being preyed on," Massie said,
noting that police are tracking a surge in truck-based drug smuggling
following several high-profile busts of airborne trafficking
operations in 2006.

"Organized crime looks for opportunities," Massie said.

"This [trucking] appears to be their next opportunity."

Should a driver heading to the border with a load of narcotics have an
attack of conscience, Massie said they too can call for help.

"Of course that [admission of possession] plays in their favour. We're
going to take that at face value," Massie said.

Overall, the number of drug vehicle-based seizures in the Pacific
Region has jumped 51 per cent since 2001.

"We've seen an increase in the number of narcotics seizures,
particularly cocaine, from about 2003 on, both in terms of the numbers
(of vehicles busted) and the quantity [of drugs in each]," said Canada
Border Services Agency Pacific District commercial operations Chief
Jan Brock.

"Our agency considers land border crossing to be extremely high-risk,"
she said.

The key concern for law enforcement is not necessarily large trucking
companies, but smaller businesses and owner-operators who are more
vulnerable to promises of big money for very little effort.

B.C. Trucking Association chairman Dietmar Krause agreed that the
problem appears to be centered among smaller operators. Krause said
the tip line will be a useful tool.

"Anything that makes it easier for someone to express their concerns
is of benefit. It could be useful for the right situation,
absolutely," Krause said.