BORDER WAR ON WEED

TORONTO -- U.S. border agents say they're seizing record amounts of
Canadian pot being snuck 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, Washington. The
man was charged for smuggling 142 kg of weed, worth $1.6 million, police said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 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," said CBP spokesman Michael Milne.

There is a "trend that the West declined while Upstate New York area
experienced a large gain in 2004."

CBP statistics show 4,600 kg of weed were seized at Buffalo-area crossings
last year, as compared to 3,900 in the Washington area, where up to 7,200
kg were seized in some years.

More than 11,300 kg of B.C. bud and growhouse marijuana were seized last
year from the entire U.S.- Canada border.

Milne said his agency has added air and marine units to monitor remote
border areas. The units have aircraft that can track, chase and conduct
surveillance against smugglers.

CBP New York spokesman Janet Rapaport said the amount of seizures at her
crossings have increased threefold in the last year to 4,500 from 1,500 kg.

"Our officers are always vigilant," Rapaport said. "Our task has been
enhanced by modern technology."

Toronto police and Canada Customs officers have said some of the drugs are
exchanged for weapons or cocaine in the U.S. that are smuggled back to Canada.