ORGANIZED CRIME AFFECTS EVERYONE

Organized crime in Nova Scotia affects your everyday life, says a new
Criminal Intelligence Service Nova Scotia report issued yesterday..

"It affects your health and safety, your annual income and your
taxes. It also affects your electricity bill, your car and home
insurance and your credit card payment," reads the agency's annual report.

Organized crime is mainly urban and centred in metro, but it also
spreads out to rural areas. And there are connections beyond Nova
Scotia's and Canada's borders.

In all, it touches areas as varied as drugs, street gangs, sexual
exploitation of kids, guns, illegal tobacco sales, motor vehicle
crimes, counterfeiting, bike gangs, financial crimes and human trafficking.

The report speaks generally about all those areas.

The drug trade is called the main criminal activity of the province,
with the drug of choice being pot. Cocaine is "prevalent in Nova
Scotia" while ecstasy and prescription drugs less so. The report says
there are no known crystal meth labs in the province.

Successful police work has reduced the number of outlaw motorcycle
gangs in Atlantic Canada. However, the report notes there is one
full-patch Hells Angels member in Nova Scotia, and that other members
have visited the drug traffickers in the province.

There are also more weapons being smuggled across the border in
Atlantic Canada than in years past.

The most common financial crimes in the province that police deal
with are counterfeiting money, bank-card skimming, phishing and identity theft.

The report says there is no intelligence of organized crime
involvement in child pornography, child prostitution, child-sex
tourism or trafficking of kids for sexual purposes.

Finally, though some may see it as a victimless crime, the report
says selling tobacco illegally helps fund other criminal activities.

"The nature of organized crime has changed," writes Justice Minister
Murray Scott in the report.

"Criminals have become more sophisticated, and crime is more
technologically advanced.

"To combat this, Nova Scotia's law-enforcement community is working
together in a concerted effort to identify and attack organized and
serious crime in our communities across the province," writes Scott.

The report stresses the importance of public co-operation in fighting
organized crime.

"Police use criminal intelligence much like puzzle pieces. They put
the pieces together to create a bigger picture. The puzzle pieces can
come from anywhere, and anyone can contribute to the bigger picture."

IN A NUTSHELL

Excerpts from a new report on local organized crime:

* "As an international port city, Halifax is also a key location for
the smuggling of illegal immigrants into Canada."

* "Police expect the future opening of a Hells Angels club in the
province, but details of when where, chapter affiliations and
membership are unclear."

* "The two main sources of illicit firearms in Canada are local
thefts and smuggling across the American border."

* "Stolen vehicles that are not recovered are often stolen by
organized crime groups for export overseas, inter-provincial resale
or to be stripped for parts. Halifax is second only to Montreal with
the lowest recovery rates in Canada."

* "Investigators have identified more than 10 groups or individuals
throughout Nova Scotia who are actively involved in the smuggling and
sale of contraband tobacco."

* "Street gangs are also a threat in Nova Scotia, with 10 reported
gangs operating at varying levels in the province."

- -- The 2006 Criminal Intelligence Service Nova Scotia Annual Report