CANADA NET EXPORTER OF DRUGS, OFFICIAL SAYS

Customs Seizing More As Traffic Rises

OTTAWA -- 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.

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
and counter-proliferation for Canadian Border Services Agency.

One American seizure last year yielded the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency
more than $500 million worth of methamphetamines.

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

"We are now their biggest drug supplier, whether it be B.C. Bud,
methamphetamines 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, the agency reports.

That's down marginally from the 1,063 seizures in 2003, when the value was
pegged at $600 million. There were 932 significant seizures in 2002 worth
$292.8 million and 873 seizures in 2001 worth $865 million.

Shipments of processed ecstasy into Canada have fallen off in the past year
or two, while criminals have begun importing raw materials and processing
the drug in-country, Webb said.

Street values, as set by the RCMP, vary depending on the kind of drugs
seized, the market and the size of individual seizures. Some years might
net several container loads of hashish, for example, while others don't.

"The values go up and down like a yo-yo," Webb said. "If we miss one of
those 40-foot container loads of hash, trust me, within a month we know it
- -- we see the street value of it dropping."

The figures represent major drug busts; they don't include seizures below a
kilogram of marijuana, 10 grams of heroine, 50 grams of cocaine, 500 grams
of hashish or 100 tabs of ecstasy.

Nearly 48 per cent of all drug seizures, large and small, were made through
the postal system; another 31 per cent were at land border points.

While only 15 per cent were made at airports, they represent more than half
the value -- 51 per cent -- of drugs seized.

On the flip side of drug deals, currency seizures in Canada have risen
since Ottawa put restrictions on unreported money transfers over $10,000
several years ago. Most are made in British Columbia, Webb said.