ORGANIZED CRIME IS HERE, SAY RCMP

We may be at the edge of the world, but organized crime is still reaching
the islands, say the commanding officers of both Masset and Queen Charlotte
RCMP detachments.

"Organized crime touches everybody, whether they know it or not," said Sgt.
Eric Stubbs, commanding officer of the Queen Charlotte RCMP detachment.
"It's everywhere."

"Organized crime has reached major proportions throughout the province,
said Sgt. Andrew Isles and Sgt. Stubbs in an overview of the problem
provided to the Observer. "It is estimated that organized crime in the
marijuana industry alone is worth $7.5-billion a year in the province."

The RCMP has a national strategy to deal with organized crime, said the two
police officers. Illegal drugs are the top priority, followed by outlaw
motorcycle gangs, economic crime, high-tech crime, money laundering,
illegal migration and trafficking of human beings, corruption and street gangs.

As removed from the problem as the islands might seem, it is here. "On the
surface organized crime isn't very prevalent, but it is here when you dig
deeper," said Sgt. Stubbs.

The drug trade and other aspects of organized crime are having an impact on
communities, especially youth. "It affects people," said Sgt. Stubbs. "If
your son is on cocaine, he's dealing with the local dealer, who's dealing
with organized crime."

The justice system is 'under strain', said the two police officers, and BC
is becoming a good place for drug dealers to do business because of
'liberal sentencing practices for drug offences."

The RCMP is collaborating with groups such as municipalities and the BC
Real Estate Association to reduce the amount of drugs grown and distributed
in the province through grow ops and clandestine labs, said Sgt. Isles and
Sgt. Stubbs.

Another form of organized crime that affects islanders from time to time is
credit card/ telemarketing and internet scams. Since 1998, US and Canadian
officials have seized or restrained $34-million and charges have been laid
against 40 Canadian telemarketers, said Sgt Stubbs and Sgt. Isles. Over
80-percent of the victims are over 65, and only about 10-percent of the
crimes are reported 'due to shame and embarrassment," they said.

Organized crime on the islands includes people who conspire with friends
and family to bring drugs here. Any group which orchestrates a route to get
drugs here are considered organized criminals, said Sgt. Stubbs.

"Crime is on a sharp increase across the province, predominantly fuelled by
the combined cocaine and marijuana trade. As a result, we are witnessing
the disastrous effects of drugs on our youth in even the smallest and most
remote communities," such as the islands, said the two sergeants.
"Unfortunately, we will continue to experience higher crime rates in the
foreseeable future and have to deal with the ramifications as it negatively
impacts our collective quality of life."