THE YOUNG AND THE DANGEROUS

Organized Crime Has Spread To All Corners Of Canada, Report Reveals

Street gangs are young, deadly and spreading across the country.

The 300 street gangs in Canada have an estimated 11,000 members, most
in major urban centres, according to the 2006 Organized Crime Report
for Canada, released yesterday by the Canadian Association of Chiefs
of Police.

While the gangs are predominately based in such cities as Toronto,
Montreal and Edmonton, the report notes "cells within existing street
gangs as well as emerging street gangs are now affecting many other
urban centres, rural areas and aboriginal reserves" -- including Ottawa.

The existence of street gangs in the nation's capital isn't a
revelation for city residents; police have been cracking down on
gang-related crimes for the past two years.

Sgt. John Medeiros, of Ottawa's street-gang section, says the
information in the report is consistent with what he's seeing.

"It's been identified as a crime problem across Canada and North
America," Medeiros says, adding street-level gangsterism is fuelled by
different "pressures."

'IMMEDIATE THREAT'

"The hip-hop gangsta rap certainly has an influence here locally and
probably does in other regions as well," he says.

While the report focuses on street gangs, it also highlights the
activities of all organized crime groups.

The report notes street gangs are typically less sophisticated than
other organized crime groups and rely on violence, often random and in
public places, making them more of a "direct and immediate threat to
the public safety of Canadians than higher-level groups."

The report finds that besides street gangs, other forms of organized
crime, including bikers, and Italian and Asian groups, remain at the
top of the criminal pile.

Investigators are also discovering that gangs are becoming more
multicultural, focusing on the criminal talents among members, rather
than their heritage.

"Just as Canada has become a more multicultural society, so too have
many organized crime groups," the report says. "Although cultural ties
remain an influencing principle within the organized crime landscape,
multi-ethnic groups can be based on the criminal capabilities of members."

Police say gangs have been coercing legitimate businesses into moving
contraband and laundering cash. The report cites the International
Monetary Fund, which estimates that $22-$55 billion is laundered
annually in Canada.

About 80% of Canada's gangs are involved in the drug trade, most at
street-level dealing, the report estimates, with a few groups involved
in wholesale distribution, manufacturing, importing or
cultivating.

Marijuana is the most used and the most produced drug in
Canada.

Cocaine "continues to be in high demand" across the country, the
report says. Crack is described as a niche product.

Cocaine is distributed primarily by organized gangs such as "some
Asian, Italian or independent criminal groups as well as several Hells
Angels chapters," the report says.

Heroin, meanwhile, is smuggled into Canada from Asia and South America
and involves groups tied by family or culture.

ECSTASY ON RISE

The 30-page report, compiled by a network of criminal intelligence
experts, also notes that a rising quantity of ecstasy is being
produced in Canada and smuggled to the U.S., Japan and Australia.

Organized gangs continue to be involved in human smuggling, as Canada
remains a destination point for illegal immigrants, the report notes,
with victims often forced into labour or the sex trade to pay off
debts to smugglers.