POLICE TARGET DRUG-TRADE PROFITS

Gangs Now Working Together For Greater Gain, Says RCMP Veteran

The new boss of B.C.'s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit vowed
yesterday to crack down on organized crime and hit where it hurts the most
- -- in the wallet.

RCMP officer Marianne Ryan, the new superintendent of the unit -- an
integrated team of police officers from across B.C. -- said she's got
motorcycle gangs and Asian crime gangs, which control the lucrative drug
trade, in her sights.

"We're sending a message that we're getting our act together just as the
criminal organizations have figured out 'Hey, we can work better by drawing
on each other's strengths,' " Ryan said after a news conference attended by
several chiefs of police at New Westminster's Justice Institute.

"Our mandate will be to target the highest levels of organized crime who
have control over much of the movement of marijuana which comes from grow
operations.

"So we are going after the elements that are involved in the wide-scale
distribution, smuggling and the ones who are making the big profits at the
higher levels."

Ryan, a 23-year RCMP veteran whose background includes drug probes and
proceeds-of-crime investigations, said tackling the gang problem is a priority.

"Motorcycle gangs are priority for us, but our experience and from what our
intelligence-gathering process tells us, these groups are working together
and making a co-operative effort, whereas before we would just target a
specific criminal group," Ryan said.

"Now we find these groups are drawing upon each other because there is so
much money to be made and they realize it's better business to deal with
each other than to be in competition.

"It doesn't just involve grow-ops or going after drugs. These groups are
involved in widespread trafficking, money-laundering and high levels of
violence and intimidation and extortion and kidnapping, even."

Ryan said that using Section 462 of the Criminal Code, which deals with
police going after proceeds of crime, will be a central part of her new
assignment.

"Part of the work is to go after the profits and identify the assets
because that's why these people are in it -- they are all crimes of
enterprise and people are in it for the money.

"So if we go after the profits, it plays a huge role in disrupting that
criminal organization."

Vancouver Police Chief Jamie Graham welcomed Ryan's initiative.

"The goal here is to prevent people from committing offences," Graham said.
"We want people to make choices to not get themselves into trouble."

Ryan takes over from former chief Dave Douglas, who has retired.