COCAINE SEIZURES UP AT BORDER - 67 KG FOUND LAST MONTH

Cocaine seizures at Pacific Highway District borders, including
Douglas, are piling up.

In the past year, border officers at the five ports - Douglas,
Pacific Highway, Huntington, Aldergrove and Boundary - seized more
of the illicit drug than was confiscated across B.C. and the Yukon in
all of 2005.

Since last July, more than 400 kilograms of cocaine has been seized at
the five ports, compared to 184 kg across the region in 2005.

There's no new initiatives to tackle the problem; however, Canada
Border Services Agency's Paula Shore said Wednesday border officers
are "learning every day" how to better intercept such shipments.

"We assume nothing," she said.

Shore said numbers haven't been crunched to confirm if smuggling of
other illicit substances is also on the rise.

However, RCMP E-Division Staff Sgt. John Ward said Wednesday the
appetite in B.C. for cocaine, guns and money is "huge." It comes
across in trade for highly coveted B.C. bud marijuana, he said.

"We are a source country for hydroponically grown marijuana. Organized
crime smuggles most of that into the United States," Ward said.

Ward said Canadian and American authorities continue to work
cooperatively on the problem, and are seeing some successes in the
battle. But there is much work to be done.

"Are we taking down more? There's no question. However, are we seeing
more guns on the street? Yes. There is a growing organized crime
problem in this province."

Smugglers are creative in their efforts, Shore said. Just at Pacific
Highway, drugs, cash and booze have been found in everything from
bananas and broccoli to fish fertilizer, a propane tanker and wine.

Last month, Pacific Highway officers found 67 kg of cocaine in a
tractor-trailer full of carrots. Sixty-one bricks of the drug were
found in four cardboard boxes stashed in the cargo.

Shore said a Canada-wide warrant has been issued for Leduc, Alta.,
resident Gary Robert Parsons in connection with the June 2 seizure.

The tractor-trailer's driver fled on foot during the search, she
said.

Other cocaine seizures at Pacific Highway this year include a 67kg
find in February, and a 129 kg seizure in January.

Shore said the June 2 incident was significant - it represents more
than one-third of the cocaine seized across the region in 2005, and
the year's only half over.