POT TRADE A BIG BANG

POLICE AND Customs officers say Canadian pot is being traded by gangs for
weapons in the U.S. and then smuggled into the country for resale or to
settle feuds. Customs officials said they seized 1,100 weapons being
smuggled into the country last year. Of those, more than 200 were seized at
southern Ontario border crossings.

"There are cases from time to time that involve the smuggling of weapons by
organized crime," Dan Yen of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said
yesterday.

Yen said most guns are seized from U.S. citizens entering Canada by car.

"There is an ongoing battle to combat and keep weapons off the streets," he
said. "Our officers are vigilant and always on the alert."

Ron Moran of the Customs Excise Union said the seizures are only the tip of
the iceberg.

"Police intelligence shows gangs are trading Canadian marijuana for
weapons," Moran said yesterday. "Every time this happens the weapons are
smuggled into Canada."

Moran said his unarmed officers routinely seize high-calibre weapons from
criminals and U.S. gun owners. Customs officials seized 5,000 firearms
being snuck into the country in the last five years.