A NEW GENERATION OF HARD DRUGS GRIPS KENORA, LEAVING A DESTRUCTIVE
TRAIL

(This is the first installment of a four-part series that looks at the drug
trade in Kenora, its impact on the city and individuals, as well as the
role communities can play in preventing its spread.)

When a knife-wielding man robbed the Subway shop on Second St. S. last
Friday, chances are he was looking for drug money, said Const. Rheal
Gosselin of the Kenora Police Services.

He's a five-year veteran of the Tri-force Kenora drug unit, and says the
crime and violence associated with hard drugs is likely to increase, as a
mix of hard drugs known as crack, crystal meth and oxies grips the city.

"If only people would sit back and take a look, they'd be more concerned,"
he said.

A piece of crack or meth can sell for as little as $10, which means they
have become accessible for a whole new clientele, which includes kids who
may only be 13 or 14-years-old.

The problem is that each of the new drugs are highly addictive, the rush
they provide lasts for a relatively short period, and it is very difficult
to get people off them. "That's the problem with drugs," Gosselin said.
"People never seem to have enough money to get their fix."

S/Sgt. Brian Brattengeier is the spokesman for the OPP's Northwest Region
office in Thunder Bay, when it comes to drugs. He says the pipeline of
crack from Winnipeg to Kenora via the Trans-Canada Highway is well
established, with dealers also reaching out to surrounding communities.

The pipeline is supplied by the mob and biker gangs, such as the Hell's
Angels, he says, who have been known to be active in Kenora in recent
years. Gosselin says that Asian gangs are also involved in the drug trade,
while native gangs, such as Native Syndicate or Indian Posse, have been
linked to bikers.

The gang lifestyle has also become popular among youth on remote reserves,
where rap music, clothes and language is popular and the hard drugs are
making in-roads.

"They emulate it to a 'T'," said Corp. Dean Fontaine, an undercover RCMP
officer who works with gangs in Winnipeg.

"I've yet to see a community where there isn't any," he said.

While busting a group of vandals in Keewatin last August, who were linked
to trouble at the arena, police seized $12,000 worth of drugs, including
LSD, cocaine and magic mushrooms. Around the same time, RCMP officers
working with the Tri-Force Drug Unit seized a kilo of cocaine, as part of
network linking bikers in Winnipeg, Thunder Bay and B.C., which passed
through Kenora.

According to last year's statistics, more than $4.4 million worth of drugs
were seized in Kenora. In 2002, more than $125,000 in cash and guns were
seized from bikers in the area.

About 90 per cent of robberies and break-ins are tied to crack in the city,
with dealers distributing between $6,000 and $10,000 worth a night,
Gosselin says. Police also seized 37 kilograms of cocaine Monday near
Falcon Beach, and another 17 kilograms of cocaine a bust worth $1.3 million
along Hwy. 11 in 2002, showing how the scope of the problem in northwestern
Ontario had grown.

While well-known crack dealer Randy Creed was busted in Kenora last year,
convicted and sentenced to three years in prison, Gosselin says his place
was quickly taken by another. Since September, there have been five
relatively minor seizures, demonstrating the common appearance of the drug
in the city.

While these drugs are often linked with the underclass of society, they are
increasingly being associated with some prominent families in the area, not
to mention prominent names, including lawyers and businessmen.

[Sidebar]

RECORD COCAINE BUST 'NO SMALL POTATOES'

Drugs Hidden In Load Of Spuds

Sun Media

It's believed to be the largest cocaine bust in Manitoba history - and it
was hidden in a truckload of potatoes. Falcon Beach RCMP seized 37
kilograms (81.5 pounds) of cocaine as well as 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of
marijuana from a Toronto-bound semi-trailer Monday afternoon during a
routine inspection at the West Hawk Lake weigh scales.

The coke and weed, packaged in cardboard boxes among the boxed spud
shipment from B.C., has a combined estimated street value of nearly $8
million. "A seizure of this kind is no small potatoes," RCMP spokesman Sgt.
Steve Saunders joked Wednesday.

An alert Manitoba compliance officer became suspicious of a box - which
turned out to contain marijuana - while inspecting the trailer shortly
after 3 p.m. at the weigh scales, about 150 kilometres east of Winnipeg.