GO WEST, GANG MEMBERS: ALBERTA ATTRACTS DRUG DEALERS

The growing oil wealth in Alberta is drawing business enterprises --
legal or otherwise -- to the province's north, police officials in
Edmonton said.

An officer in charge of the Edmonton Police Service's gang, hate
crimes and undercover unit section, said law enforcement knows of at
least two individuals with suspected gang links moving recently from
Eastern Canada to the Fort McMurray/Grande Prairie region.

Staff Sgt. Kevin Galvin said that the move is part of a wave of gang
members moving into Alberta to take advantage of the current economic
boom, which is creating a strong market for cocaine and other illegal
substances.

"Alberta's stuck in one of the hottest economies in the world, most
certainly in the nation and in North America," Galvin said. "Gangs
are criminal enterprises. For every legal business, there's supply
and demand, and illegal businesses run the same way."

Edmonton Police has had specific groups investigating gang activities
since 1977, and Galvin said they have established strong information
networks that allow them to track large-scale movements.

The recent trend, he added, is that gang members are using the City
of Champions as a jump-off point to tap into the drug markets in
places like Fort McMurray, where high wage levels have spurred demand.

"Our metro gang unit is integrated with the RCMP, so we're conscious
of the migration of gang members, not only to Alberta's north, but to
Northern Canada, as well," Galvin said.

Cocaine remains the key substance being trafficked, although
officials said marijuana is also being traded as a fundamental
business enterprise.

Fort McMurray RCMP declined to discuss specific cases or individuals
they are investigating, but the trend of gang members moving to town
isn't surprising, said Const. Martin Gaudet.

"With the amount of growth we've seen, it's really not worse or
better than any city here, whether it's Edmonton (or) Grande
Prairie," Gaudet said. "We're attracting a lot of attention, a lot of
good but also a lot of bad."

The local detachment has been active recently in pursuing the growing
drug trade.

The group conducted Project Kraze, a six-week undercover operation
that led to 11 arrests, last June. The operation led to charges
involving the trafficking of ecstasy and cocaine, and police found
what they suspected to be a methamphetamine lab.

Galvin said there hasn't been a large increase in gang-related
violence yet, but added police are concerned about what would happen
if the economy slowed.

"When there's a downturn, the number of consumers shrink," he said.