B.C. HOME TO 5 RCMP TOP TARGETS

Interest In Hells Angels, Big Circle Boys, Ports 'No Secret'

Organized crime in British Columbia is so widespread that five of the
RCMP's nine national priority investigations this year will be conducted
here, B.C.'s Assistant Commissioner Gary Bass said Thursday.

He said he obviously could not give specific details publicly on who
exactly will be targeted in B.C., but the fact the RCMP has identified the
"guys or groups" as tactical priorities "shouldn't come as a surprise to them."

"The [RCMP's] national strategic priorities each year identify the heads of
the big criminal organizations and we go after them. These are long-term
investigations," Bass said at a conference on organized crime in Vancouver.

"Of the nine tactical priorities, five are in B.C. and all are in the Lower
Mainland. It just gives you a sense of where B.C. fits within the national
picture. ... It should demonstrate we have a serious organized-crime
problem -- more than most in this country."

Bass added it's "no secret" the RCMP would be interested in chapters of the
Hells Angels, Italian organized-crime figures and leaders of the Asian
organized-crime group Big Circle Boys. The RCMP's 2003 Strategic Threat
Assessment also lists ports as a national strategic priority.

He said a "big chunk" of the money made by organized crime comes from
drugs. He said B.C. marijuana profits are conservatively estimated to be
about $6 billion a year, making it the third-largest "industry" in B.C.
after fishing and forestry.

Bass added police estimate they are able to intercept only five per cent of
the drugs.

"Every major drug case we undertake lasts six months to one year and can
involve 20 to 30 officers."

He said the marijuana that is grown in B.C. is smuggled to the United
States, where the price of the drug is considerably higher than it is in
Canada, and traded for cocaine.

Bass said police don't have the resources to do everything that needs to be
done, so they must spend time evaluating the most significant threats to
the province and the country.

"Myself and my counterparts across the country meet in September and set
targets. By January we have an operational plan of attack and by April we
will start the operations.

He said RCMP are trying to make the "right choices with the resources we have."

"I think it will take time before [Canadians] recognize how bad a situation
we're at today," he said. "Organized crime has started to get a greater
hold in this province ... Primarily it's involved in commodities. It's
about getting the most profit with the least risk. Prostitution is ideal
for organized crime because it has a high profit margin and low enforcement.

"There's so much drug activity going on it's very difficult to make a
difference at any level," he said.

"The drug of the day switches. There is a horrendous problem right now with
crystal methamphetamine. It's very highly addictive with very few episodes
required. But if crystal methamphetamine was legalized tomorrow it [illegal
drug dealing] would be something else," he said.

According to the RCMP's website, the force's Organized Crime Strategy will
focus on "reducing the threat and impact of organized crime. Critical to
our success in countering the growth of these groups, and dismantling or
disrupting their structures and sub-groups, is the improved co-ordination,
sharing and use of criminal intelligence in support of integrated policing,
law-enforcement plans and strategies."