PLANE DRUG STASHES WORRY MP

New Seizure At Airport; Desjarlais Fears Bombs May Be Next

For the ninth time in seven months, maintenance workers have found
drugs hidden in an Air Canada plane at the Winnipeg airport.

And the pattern and regularity of the drug seizures has federal NDP
transportation critic Bev Desjarlais (MP-Churchill) worried more
dangerous packages might soon find their way into the bellies of
Canadian planes.

"We're not seeing this kind of pattern anywhere else in the country,"
she said. "My concern is that someone interested in placing a bomb on
a plane might be looking at this and thinking it's easy to do."

Insp. Gary Walker said a half-pound (245 grams) of hashish was found
by a maintenance crew last Thursday in the same plane where 461 grams
of hash oil was found just three weeks earlier.

The Air Canada plane had been in Winnipeg for an extended service
stop.

Since last September, over $132,500 worth of cocaine and hashish have
been discovered by maintenance workers in the cargo holds of Air
Canada planes during stops in Winnipeg.

So far no one has been arrested and police say it's difficult to
pinpoint where the drugs were placed on to the plane and to where they
were destined.

Later this week, Desjarlais, federal Transport Minister David
Collenette and transportation ministers from the western provinces
will be in the city to attend a western transportation advisory
council meeting where it's expected the issue of airline safety will
be discussed.

"I'm concerned about the risk to transportation safety and airline
safety," Desjarlais said. "I've brought it up before and I'll do it
again."