B.C., MEXICO PLAN TO SHARE MORE INFORMATION ON DRUG SMUGGLING

The attorney-general and his counterpart from the state of Baja
California sign a statement of intent to exchange intelligence on
criminal activities

By Kim Bolan, Vancouver Sun

B.C. and Mexico plan to share more information about multinational
organized crime groups smuggling drugs across borders,
Attorney-General Wally Oppal said Monday.

Oppal and his counterpart from the Mexican state of Baja California
- -- Rommel Moreno Manjarrez -- signed a statement of intent as a the
first step towards an information-sharing agreement about "criminal
activities that transcend international borders."

"This is important because it shows we are prepared to collaborate
with each other and we are going to do that," Oppal said. "The
justice system historically has operated in silos, and we can't do
that any more. It is fairly obvious when these people cross
international boundaries."

He said technological advances like the Internet and cellphones "have
given criminals more sophisticated tools."

"Strengthening our relationships with other criminal justice systems
gives the Crown international exposure to other states' experiences
in prosecuting organized and gang crimes," he said.

Moreno Manjarrez told reporters his country is "at war" with drug
cartels that murdered 9,000 people last year including judges,
prosecutors, police officers and lawyers.

He said the agreement with B.C. is "a very important step in the new
way to confront organized crime that operates beyond traditional boundaries."

While B.C. has nowhere near Mexico's rate of gang murders, the
province has been plagued by gang violence in recent months, most of
it linked to the lucrative drug trade and disputes over turf and
product. B.C. gangsters have been using Mexico as a place to vacation and meet.

Two members of a notorious B.C. gang -- the United Nations -- were
gunned down in Mexico last summer. UN leader Clay Roueche was trying
to get into Mexico when he was turned away and arrested in the U.S.
on a series of drug-trafficking and money-laundering charges.

Oppal said the situation in Mexico "is just horrible." "What was
taking place in Colombia 10 years ago is now taking place in Mexico,"
he said, adding that British Columbians should be concerned about
what is taking place in our province.

NDP critic Mike Farnworth called Oppal's meeting a "nice photo-op."

"The reality is, in B.C. we should be dealing with some of the
changes that need to take place right here in the province, like
funding for prosecutorial services over the long term as opposed to a
budget that has them cut over the next three years," Farnworth said.

He said Mexico and Canada should already have been exchanging
information about international crime groups.

Meanwhile, U.S. law enforcement agencies and the RCMP called a joint
news conference in Seattle for today to provide details about a
coordinated cross-border investigation dubbed Operation Blade Runner,
which led to the interdiction of a smuggling group that was using
helicopters to transport B.C. marijuana and cocaine across the
Canada-U.S. border.

The investigation, involving the RCMP's South East District Drug
Section, seized several quantities of drugs along with two helicopters.

Seven Canadian men and one American face charges, while a 24-year-old
B.C. man caught in the case hanged himself last month in a Spokane jail.

Samuel Jackson Lindsay-Brown, of Revelstoke, was facing a charge of
possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, after he
was caught Feb. 23 unloading about 350 pounds of pot in a remote area
of eastern Washington state, near the border.