TEENAGE DRUG SMUGGLERS WILL BE 'HAMMERED'

Canadian and American authorities sent a stiff message to Abbotsford youth
on Wednesday in response to a growing number of teens smuggling drugs into
the United States.

"When we get juveniles . . . we're going to hammer them to send a message
that it's not a game," Whatcom County juvenile prosecutor Tom Verge said
during a drug smuggling forum at the Matsqui Centennial Auditorium
Wednesday. "What drives us crazy is watching kids put themselves at risk."

In order to prevent that in the future, the forum was taped and will be
shown to local high school students. In the fall four Abbotsford teens were
caught smuggling drugs south of the border. Unlike Canadian law, Verge said
those caught in the U.S. are dealt with harshly.

He often asks the judge to keep the youth in juvenile prison until their
21st birthday.

"The smugness comes off their faces [when they hear that]," he said. "They
don't smile anymore, they're crying."

Verge said drug dealers target vulnerable youth for a reason - they need
somebody to do their dirty work for a small price.

"How much is enough to risk the freedoms we have?" he asked. "What's the
price? Hopefully you don't have one."

Abbotsford police drug squad member Graham Shantz warned that once a person
becomes a drug runner it becomes almost impossible to get out.

In 2003 there were 2,097 pounds of marijuana seized, 28 pounds of cocaine,
21 weapons seizures, 15 arrests and seven illegal immigrants along the
Abbotsford side of the border.