CANADA SAYS ASIAN CRIME GANGS POSING THREAT

OTTAWA - Canada said Friday that violent Asian-based crime
gangs were posing a major threat to public safety as they strove to
increase their domination of the heroin and cocaine markets.

The Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC) also said in its 1999
report on organized crime that East European-based criminal gangs were
spreading through Canada and increasingly trafficking in drugs.

It also focused on the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, which it said was
the one of the most powerful and well-structured criminal
organizations in Canada.

A major concern is the Asian-based gangs that dominate the heroin
trade and are increasingly participants in cocaine smuggling. They are
also involved in migrant smuggling and violent crimes such as
shootings and kidnappings.

"Asian-based criminal groups, especially the Dai Huen Jai (from south
China) and Vietnamese-based gangs, continue to pose a significant
threat to public safety across Canada," the report said.

"Vietnamese groups are known for their extreme violence and use of
automatic weapons. Asian-based street gang violence is on the rise in
several cities. Many of these gangs have direct (links) to more
sophisticated Asian organized crime groups."

The report said the CISC had dealt a major blow to the Asian gangs
earlier this year when a two-year operation ended in the arrest of 32
suspects in British Columbia, where many of the gangsters are based.

But it said there was no room for complacency, since the Asian gangs
were establishing alliances with other groups both in Canada and abroad.

"Since Asian-based criminal organizations continue to function as
tightly-knit groups, they will remain a challenge to police and law
enforcement operations," the CISC said.

The report also identified a gradual increase in activity by East
European-based gangs, some of which had close links to U.S. and
European criminal organizations.

These gangs were involved in drug smuggling, murder, prostitution, car
theft, currency counterfeiting and various other types of financial
crime.

The CISC said the gangs -- some with access to significant financial
resources in the former Soviet Union -- would increase their
involvement in smuggling stolen goods and in the drugs trade.

"(They) will expand their networks to include other ethnic-based and
domestic criminal organizations, including Asian-based and traditional
organized crime groups and outlaw motorcycle gangs," it said.

Foremost among the motorcycle gangs are the Hells Angels, whose 249
members are known for their drugs smuggling and frequent use of violence.

"(They) remain a national priority for law enforcement in Canada," the
CISC said.

Despite successful police operations against the Sicilian Mafia,
traditional Italian-based organized crime gangs were still a major
problem, particularly because of their involvement in drug-smuggling
and money-laundering.

"(These gangs) remain a real threat to Canada. They have enormous
power, given their cooperation with other criminal organizations, and
pose a major challenge," it said.

The CISC also expressed concern over technological crime and the
sexual exploitation of children, especially involving use of the
Internet. The smuggling of tobacco, alcohol and firearms was also a
concern.

"There is no doubt that organized crime is a central fact of Canadian
life, one with the potential to touch each one of us, sometimes with
disastrous consequences," CISC Chairman Philip Murray wrote in the
introduction to the report.