MAJOR ASIAN DRUG RING BROKEN,CANADIANS SAY

Police have broken up a major Asian drug organization that allegedly
smuggled in so much heroin it could manipulate prices across North America
at will, Canadian authorities said Wednesday.

The operation moved millions of dollars worth of heroin annually from
Southeast Asia through Vancouver to markets in the United States as far away
as Puerto Rico, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.

"When you start dealing with heroin at the multi-kilogram level,you are
dealing with the top echelon of heroin movement throughout the world," RCMP
Sgt. Patrick Convey said.

Twenty-eight people were arrested in raids in Canada, the United States,
Hong Kong and Thailand after a three-year investigation, authorities said.