DIRTY MONEY SPENT ON CATTLE

Criminals hide ill-gotten gains in unusual places, report finds: Rare coins,
gems popular

From an Albertan ranch with roaming cattle to gold coins and collectible
art, from toilet paper and luxury boats to a collection of Nazi daggers,
Canada's gangsters use their dirty money in imaginative and unexpected ways.

Drugs generate a mountain of money as dealers swap narcotics for crumbled
banknotes on street corners across the country. Handling all of that cash
without drawing attention can be a frustrating experience, it seems.

A study of money-laundering cases across Canada shows criminals most often
turn to the obvious place to put their money -- banks -- but as financial
institutions tighten up, gangsters are turning to more imaginative ways of
enjoying the fruits of their labour.

In six money-laundering cases -- five in Alberta -- drug traffickers bought
cattle with their proceeds of crime, often in cash.

Two brothers in Red Deer, Alta., who were part of a group that used a
sailboat to smuggle cocaine from South America to Europe, used some of their
profits to lease large tracts of land, the report says.

They populated the farm with 76 cattle, paid for in cash.

A Toronto cocaine trafficker bought seven racehorses for more than $180,000;
two of them were reasonably successful on the racing circuit, although a
trainer he hired was suspended when some of the horses tested positive for
cocaine.

Sometimes there is evidence of pleasure at a more visceral level. One
gangster proudly posed naked on a toilet with mounds of banknotes draped
over him and a woman was photographed grappling with cash laid out on a bed.

Especially appealing to money launderers are jewellery, gems, and rare
coins, although it is likely the portability of these items rather than
their beauty that attracts them, the report says.

A police search of a cocaine dealer's home uncovered more than 60 pieces of
expensive jewelry, including gold and diamond-encrusted watches, gold
chains, gold and diamond bracelets, gold tie clips, gold and diamond-studded
earrings, and gold rings.

A safety deposit box turned up even more jewellery.

And an American marijuana trafficker who pleaded guilty to drug charges in
the United States agreed to forfeit his assets, including a rare coin
collection in a safety deposit box in a Mississauga bank.

A large-scale tobacco smuggler was found to be an art afficionado, with a
collection that included one piece that police found he had sold in Miami in
1997 through an intermediary for US$47,500.

Automobiles and boats are popular as well; 60% of cases saw dirty money go
into motor vehicles, the report says.

A long-time drug trafficker from Quebec, for example, was found by police to
have 21 automobiles registered in his name in five years, several of them
bought with cash.

A major cocaine importer who had his drugs mailed into Canada from Colombia
was found to have bought several nice cars, including a Cadillac Fleetwood
from a dealer in Laval, Que.; he closed that deal with a purchase plan that
included twelve $1,000 bills.

And several criminals were found to have bought Harley-Davidson motorcycles
with their proceeds of crime.

The report on money laundering was prepared by Dr. Stephen Schneider, a
criminologist with both St. Mary's University in Halifax and the Nathanson
Centre for the Study of Organized Crime and Corruption at York University,
based on the RCMP's major money-laundering case files.