HIGHWAYS YIELD INCREASED 'TRAFFIC'

Highway 401 is becoming the thoroughfare of choice for most drug
traffickers, police say.

Shi Jun Lu of Ottawa and Khamsouriya Vongviset of Nepean found that
out when they were arrested and charged with possession of $900,000
worth of marijuana last Saturday.

They were pulled over by the OPP for driving 140 kilometres per hour.
When police opened the trunk to investigate a smell coming from the
car, they found 85 pounds of marijuana in half-pound denominations
packaged in plastic bags.

OPP spokesperson Jackie Perry said that while the quantity and value
of the drugs seized are unusual, drug busts along the 400-series
highways are not.

"There's a lot of narcotics that go up and down that road ... To me,
it would probably be an everyday occurrence."

Acting Det.-Sgt. Jim Bannon of the OPP's drug unit said it's common
for drug traffickers to be stopped, not because it's obvious their
cargo is suspicious, but because of their basic failure to obey
traffic laws.

He said speeding is one of the most common violations, in addition to
tailgating and making reckless lane changes.

"Most drug traffickers want to get there in a hurry."

He said the unit seizes mostly marijuana and cocaine, and quantities
of the drugs seized have been steadily increasing over time. Over the
last two weeks in the Belleville area, the OPP seized 10 kilograms of
cocaine worth $10 million from a vehicle on the 401.

Bannon said highway patrol officers are trained to recognize traffic
violations as well as signs of other suspicious activities.

He wouldn't share any of his units secrets though.

"I don't want to give up our techniques or drug traffickers won't do
them anymore."