RCMP DRUG EXPERTS TUTOR WORLD

A DOZEN southeast Asian men peer intently at the countless vials and baggies
of heroin and opium scattered on a table in the middle of the room.

Recipes are flashed onto a screen outlining exactly what goes into the most
powerful, addictive and dangerous drugs in the world and how they are made.

These are not members of some drug ring learning the ropes. They're cops
from the so-called Golden Triangle of southeast Asia where a good portion of
our city's street drugs come from.

So why are they here?

Believe it or not, these drug-savvy cops have travelled from Thailand, China
and India to learn techniques from Canadian RCMP members to counter the drug
trade in their countries.

"We're learning new ways to fight with organized crime," explained Surajhet
Dhammadamrong, a 50-year-old officer with the narcotics suppression bureau
of the Royal Thai police.

During a four-month period earlier this year, Thai police seized at least 10
million capsules of methamphetamines and more than 150 kgs of heroin
destined for the U.S. and Canada.

While Thailand has severe penalties for drug trafficking -- offenders can be
put to death for possessing more than 20 grams of heroin -- they lag when it
comes to investigation and crime-fighting skills.

Dhammadamrong said Thailand doesn't have a witness protection program to
safeguard informants -- an idea he'll be pursuing when he returns to his
department.

Sammy Lam, of the Hong Kong police department, said the RCMP workshop has
given him new drug-fighting ideas and has allowed him to share some of his
knowledge with Canadian officers.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Derk Doornbos said the RCMP has conducted similar seminars
with officers from other parts of the world a couple of times a year.

After a week in workshops, the officers are placed with RCMP drug sections
across the country to see how Canadian police deal with the drug problem.
Doornbos said while the Canadian officers are doing the teaching, the RCMP
will benefit in the long run.

"In cases that involve drugs that come from these countries the evidence has
to withstand the Canadian system. If we all don't do it right, we risk a
dismissal of the charge."