LOWER MAINLAND IS A HUB OF ORGANIZED CRIME, REPORT SAYS

There are approximately 900 organized crime groups currently
operating in Canada, and British Columbia's Lower Mainland, southern
Ontario and the greater Montreal area are the major hubs where they
are doing business, according to an annual report from the Criminal
Intelligence Service Canada.

The 2008 report, released at a Montreal news conference yesterday by
RCMP Commissioner William Elliott and other CISC members, provides an
overview of organized crime in Canada and highlights global trends.
The CISC is made up of police agencies at the federal, provincial and
municipal levels and various other law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

In noting that there were about 900 organized crime groups identified
in Canada over the past year, the report found that the drug trade
remains the largest criminal market in Canada, in terms of its scope
and the degree of involvement by the majority of organized crime groups.

According to the CISC report, marijuana is one of the most-trafficked
illegal drugs in Canada, with extensive organized crime involvement
at all levels of production, distribution and exportation.

The production of methamphetamine in Canada is rising to meet growing
international demand, and Canada is also a primary source country of
ecstasy for the world's drug trade.

This year's report also noted that, due to record-high opium
production in Afghanistan, opium seizures in Canada have increased
significantly, but were still low compared to other drugs.

A wide range of financial crimes helped line the pockets of organized
crime groups last year, with gangs involved in everything from
mortgage fraud to illegal cigarettes. Mass-marketing fraud operations
gross over $500 million a year, and the CISC reports that counterfeit
or altered cheques and money orders are increasingly being used by
organized crime to commit mass-marketing fraud.

Technology is also increasingly being used by organized crime groups
to commit financial crimes such as debit-card fraud. Wireless
technology enables information to be relayed from point-of-sale
terminals to people in cars stationed nearby and the stolen data are
transferred almost instantly to "card factories" around the world.

The report also said that the growth in the availability and use of
electronic money systems is facilitating money laundering and the
sale of illegal goods.

The Internet is expected to become increasingly appealing for
criminals looking to buy and sell illegal guns in order to avoid law
enforcement at the Canada and U.S. borders, according to the report.
The U.S. remains the primary foreign supplier of guns smuggled into Canada.