FEDS TO REVIEW BORDER ARREST OF SENIOR

WINNIPEG =AD The Minnesota grandmother who was
wrongly jailed at the Remand Centre for 12 days
on suspicion of smuggling heroin into Manitoba
says federal officials owe her an apology and
compensation for the debt incurred to cover her legal costs.

Janet Goodin, 66, said she is pleased to know
that the Canada Border Services Agency is
preparing a report on her arrest but said she's owed more than that.

I would like an apology and I would like the
charges to be withdrawn,=94 Goodin said. =93My
daughters had to borrow at least $5,000 to cover
my legal costs and that money should be recouped, too.=94

Goodin was arrested April 20 by CBSA guards at
the Sprague, Man., port of entry after a
preliminary field test showed a canning jar of
motor oil in her van tested positive for traces
of heroin. She was handcuffed, detained and
strip-searched by border guards and then turned
over to the RCMP, who charged her with three
heroin-trafficking related offences.

Goodin, a grandmother and a retired Girl Scout
administrator, was denied bail and held in jail
for 12 days before a more thorough analysis by
the RCMP revealed the jar contained only motor oil.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said Tuesday
that he has requested a report from the president
of the CBSA into Goodin's detention.

Whether there were any errors or changes that
need to be made, I'll have to wait until I receive a full report,=94 Toews
said.

Toews said he would not comment on whether the
Canadian government would issue an apology to Goodin.

Whatever actions are appropriate, either CSBA or the government will take.
=94

CBSA official Carl Jarvin, the acting manager of
programs for the Prairie region, said the field
test conducted by the border guards has proven
infallible in the past, adding he couldn't
explain why there was a false positive in Goodin's case.

I'm not aware of a similar case in my 23 years
like this one,=94 Jarvin said. =93This is completely unusual.=94

Jarvin said the field-testing procedure used by
CBSA border guards is the same one used by
several law enforcement agencies. He said that
while the findings of the field test are not
allowed in court, the results are recognized as
grounds to detain suspected individuals of drug smuggling.