MOVING THIS DOPE PUSHES THE ENVELOPE

VANCOUVER -- Some people opening their morning mail have been getting a
surprise gift -- a letter stuffed with marijuana.

The letters have been arriving in a Vancouver suburb as return mail, with
their name and address as the return address. When they open the envelope,
the horrified residents have just received a sizable bag of dope.

They now fear drug traffickers are using their names and addresses to run
drugs through the mail.

Chris Taulu, who manages the Collingwood Community Policing Centre, said
she's had four letters cross her desk in the past couple of months. Taulu
figures each envelope contains enough pot for a half-dozen joints. She
passed on the letters to Vancouver drug squad detectives. Taulu also told
Vancouver City Councillors of her concerns last week.

"They borrow someone else's name and address as the return address," Taulu
said.

"If for any reason it's returned, guess where it's returned to. It's
returned to the address on the envelope."

When people open the envelopes, inside is a plastic bag of marijuana.

In each case, she said, the letters were bound for addresses in the States,
but didn't have enough postage.

"There's no letter inside, just the marijuana in a bag," said Taulu. "Maybe
they're just sending it out as samples. It's flat enough that it will get
through Customs. Maybe it's the new way of shipping."