POT TRADE MOVES EAST

U.S. BORDER agents say they're seizing record amounts of Canadian pot being
transported across the border and are escalating their war against
organized smugglers. Agents say they're taking a tougher line against
marijuana smugglers following the slaying of four RCMP officers in Alberta,
who were killed at a grow-op site.

U.S. officers said they weren't taking chances when they chased a Canadian
truck driver last Thursday after he ran a port near Sumas, Wash. The man
was charged for smuggling 142 kilos of weed, worth $1.6 million.

Moved Base

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said some smugglers have
shifted their bases from B.C.-Washington State to Buffalo-area border
crossings, where they claim there's less police heat.

"We have seen a shift in smuggling from the Washington area to areas in the
east," Customs spokesman Michael Milne said.

About 4,600 kilos of weed were seized at Buffalo-area crossings last year,
compared to 3,900 in the Washington area, where up to 7,200 kilos were
seized in the past.