PEARSON TARGETED IN ANTI-DRUG BLITZ

Cops Using DNA, Forensic Accounting To Nab Kingpins

The RCMP say they're cracking down on organized crime gangs using
Pearson airport to smuggle drugs into Canada.

A "cold case" drug team has been created by the force to probe
seizures sitting on shelves for as long as two years, said Sgt. Frank
Gougeon, of a general investigation impact team (GIIT).

Gougeon said DNA and fingerprint tests are being used to obtain
evidence from the drugs and packaging. He said statement analysis and
forensic accounting are also used to go after the kingpins.

Some of the evidence gathered from the drugs are compared for matches
in a police database

Gougeon said a Toronto man who allegedly headed a drug courier network
was the first arrested by the month-old team.

Royan Roosevelt Downes, 28, of Flemington Rd. is charged with
conspiracy to import a controlled substance.

Via The Caribbean

He appears for a bail hearing today in Brampton court.

Police allege Downes spearheaded a cocaine smuggling ring that used
couriers to sneak drugs into the country from the Caribbean.

Suspected courier Nicola Marie Morgan was arrested last October with 2
kilos of cocaine in her luggage as she returned from Grenada. She is
before the courts.

"We suspect organized crime groups are involved," said Insp. Steve
Martin, who heads the force's airport detachment. "We are putting
these groups on notice."

He said officers are targeting suspects who are high up in the drug
ring and involved in funding or organizing shipments.

"We are going after anyone responsible for importing drugs into
Canada," Martin said. "Some of these groups are still in operation."

More than 100 drug couriers were arrested by the Mounties and Canada
Customs at Pearson last year, police documents show.