COCAINE WORTH MILLIONS DESTROYED

It's enough to make the most hardened criminal weep - Grand Forks
RCMP incinerated millions of dollars worth of cocaine last week,
right after the drug was seized during a routine border search.

Border guards discovered the stash welded into the body of a truck,
resulting in the arrest of one man and an ongoing investigation.

Grand Forks RCMP Staff Sgt. Darryl Little says it's unclear what
market the drugs were bound for, beyond that they were intended for Canada.

"Aside from the samples we need for court, we burned it right after
it was seized, for security reasons," he says. "It's hard to say
what someone might do to get that much coke back."

He says the more than 80 kg easily represent the largest drug bust in
area history, but that they reflect a trend that has been ongoing for
as long as a decade.

"Dealers are starting to leave the larger entrance points like
Vancouver in favour of smaller border crossings with fewer border
(guards), he says. "B.C. marijuana can pretty much be traded, pound
for pound, with American cocaine - there aren't as many grow
operations in the States because of tougher prison sentences, and the
quality level (of B.C. pot) is considered higher."

He says the level of drug smuggling is pretty much on par with
previous years - but that's not to say the issue is taken lightly.

"This is a national priority, for the RCMP and the Canada Border
Services Agency," he says. "And we do have plans in place to deal
with it."

"In 2004 we seized just under half a kilo of drugs, and that increased
to 104 kilos in 2005," he adds. "This spike was due to the seizure
Border Services Officers made in July 2005 at the Osoyoos border
crossing of 100 kilos of marijuana. This was an export seizure
(leaving Canada)."

He says current stats are as follows: 2005 saw 206 seizures totalling
104,347 grams and 9,020 dosages (dosages denote tablet-form drugs such
as ecstasy and steroids) and 2004 saw 196 seizures, totalling 435
grams and 1,237 dosages.

He says this most-recent seizure has attracted the interest of the
Integrated Border Enforcement Team, based in Osoyoos and Creston,
where investigators are seeking to discover where the drug came from
and where it was intended for sale.

The man arrested in the seizure is currently in custody awaiting a
bail hearing in Kamloops, B.C.

On a similar note, the disposal of legal drugs is also a concern to
area officials who ask residents to please refrain from throwing
unused prescriptions into the garbage or flushing them down the toilet.

Either way, there's a risk the drugs can end up seeping into the water
supply, so everyone is asked to return unused prescriptions to their
pharmacy, where they will be forwarded to a larger centre for
incineration.