ILLICIT DRUGS HEADING SOUTH

CANADA IS becoming a more significant exporter of illicit drugs, a
fact reflected in the figures on border drug busts, says a top customs
official in Ottawa. U.S. officials are making more seizures both at
and south of the border, while major drug busts by Canadian border
authorities have been fairly consistent since the mid-1990s, said
George Webb, head of counter-terrorism for Canadian Border Services
Agency.

One seizure last year yielded the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency more
than $500 million worth of meta-amphetamines.

"In the old days, the flow of drugs was northbound, coming out of the
United States," Webb said. "That ... has changed.

"We are now their biggest drug supplier, whether it be B.C. Bud,
meta-amphetamines or steroids."

Last year, there were 974 large seizures of drugs coming in to Canada,
with a total street value of about $269.7 million. That's down
marginally from the 1,063 seizures in 2003, when the value was pegged
at $600 million.