MARIJUANA MAIL SCARES RECIPIENTS

VANCOUVER -- 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.

But when they open the envelope, the horrified residents have just
received a sizeable 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."

One of the hapless victims is an elderly couple, Taulu
says.

"They were just terrified," she said. "Someone had broken into their
car and stolen their registration."

Another man phoned 911 and was told to flush it down the toilet, which
he refused, until he handed the drugs over to police personally.

"They're law-abiding citizens. What they're afraid of is what happens
if it's a bigger pound of marijuana or cocaine, and the drug squad is
knocking at their door," Taulu said. "They could be caught up in a
raid. How do I prove I didn't (do it). That's what's terrifying them."

Vancouver Police spokesperson Const. Sarah Bloor could not confirm
whether an investigation is underway. But if police received the
letters, she said, there will be inquiries made.

Canada Post spokesperson John Caines had never heard of the scam
before.

"But it doesn't mean it hasn't happened," he said from Ottawa. "There
are some people who use other people's addresses, and they get to the
mail before the people take it out of the mail-box. I would worry if I
were these people, that if it's coming back to that address, and the
people know it's coming back, that they would go get it."