DRUG BOOM FOLLOWS OIL TO B.C.'S NORTH

Fort St. John RCMP Lay 91 Drug Charges After Four-Month Probe

FORT ST. JOHN -- Northern B.C.'s booming oil and gas industry is not only
supplying migrant workers with pockets full of cash, but is giving drug
traffickers a growing clientele, RCMP say.

A recent four-month undercover drug investigation in the Peace Region led
to 63 people being charged with 91 drug-related counts.

"We get a huge influx of people during winter-time and obviously, that type
of industry brings drugs because it's a large cash business," said Terry
Jacklin of the Fort St. John RCMP drug section.

"As such, we have a high usage rate of cocaine with respect to the size of
the area up here."

The oil and gas industry often sees workers make thousands of dollars in
the span of a few weeks, Jacklin said.

"It's not uncommon to deal with some of these people with $5,000 to $10,000
in their pockets at any one time.

"So where there's cash, you'll have the drugs that follow."

Jacklin said the RCMP investigation was spurred by an escalation in
drug-related crimes.

Before the project began, police were investigating an increasing number of
home invasions related to drug collections, mysterious beatings and
weapons-related offences connected to debt collection, he said.

Of the 63 people arrested, 14 were charged with trafficking. Jacklin said
the ages of the accused traffickers -- all between 16 and 39 -- reflect the
young population of the Peace Region.

The RCMP carried out a similar investigation last year, with more than 50
individuals charged.

Some of this year's accused were charged last year, Jacklin said, while a
few others were already known to the police.

Most of those charged with trafficking live in the Peace Region area, are
self-employed and live off the profits of trafficking, he said.

"Like any industry, the more people you get, the busier it gets, and the
greedier they get," he said.

The investigation began in mid-February and was carried out by 10 RCMP
members from the Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, Dawson Creek, Prince George
and Vancouver detachments.