BORDER COPS SEIZE $14.5 M IN ALBERTA

Contraband Concealed Many Ways

Pot hidden in a resealed cup-of-soup container, 87 kilos of cocaine
stuffed in a false truck floor, and two pistols tucked in the lining
of a work boot.

Those are just a few of the items -- valued at more than $14.5 million
- -- seized at border crossings in southern Alberta in 2003-04.

More than 400,000 cars, trucks and buses were processed by officers
with Canada Border Services Agency at five points of entry along the
298-kilometre border between Alberta and Montana.

Officers recovered five missing children. Two were victims of parental
abduction, the others runaways.

"Since 1986, there have been 1,200 recoveries of missing children at
the southern Alberta border crossings," says Loretta Nyhus, regional
spokeswoman for the agency. "Officers are always on the alert for children."

They're on the lookout for a lot of other things, too. Illegal drugs,
firearms and vehicles rank highest on the list of most frequently
seized items.

"Our officers do a great job preventing contraband from getting
through. There are also officers behind the scenes gathering
intelligence," says Nyhus.

"People intending on smuggling goods into the country use all
concealment methods," she adds.

Drugs have been hidden in laundry soap, dipped in mustard then wrapped
in plastic, and concealed in sleeping bags and in every part of a
vehicle one can imagine.

In January, Hershey, a detector dog, was credited with one of the
largest cocaine busts in the province's history.

Hershey led investigators to 87 kilograms of cocaine, its street value
estimated at $10 million, under a false floor in a trailer coming into
Canada via the Coutts-Sweetgrass port of entry, 320 kilometres south
of Calgary.

A $2-million cocaine shipment was seized at the Del Bonita border
crossing, about 70 kilometres south of Lethbridge, in December 2003.

The 22 kilograms of cocaine were in vacuum-packed, plastic bags
covered with paper, tape and fabric softener sheets in an unsuccessful
effort to mask the scent.

There were 49 firearms seizures involving a total of 69 weapons,
including rifles, shotguns and handguns, 10 of which were
semi-automatic.

Last year, officers processed 284,014 cars, 123,313 trucks and 1,412
buses.

That compares with almost 317,000 cars, 131,000 trucks and 1,300 buses
crossing the border the previous year.

Currency seizures totalled $252,000, of which $166,000 was
subsequently identified as the proceeds of crime.

"Anything over $10,000 is required to be reported. So when it's not
declared, it is investigated," says Nyhus.

Penalties for seized goods include a fine as well as 25 to 80 per cent
of the value of the items.

"There are different levels of penalties when goods are seized. The
penalties coincide with the levels of infraction," says Nyhus.

Last year, immigration officers in southern Alberta issued 2,169
immigration permits. Another 3,400 were denied.