DRUGGIES HIGH ON CALGARY

Geography, unprecedented population growth and two major highways
intersecting right in the middle of the city -- it all makes Calgary a
natural pipeline for Canada's drug trade.

The Calgary Police Service's drug unit always suspected multi-million
dollar drug loads were moving through the city to and from the West Coast,
something last weekend's $18.8-million coke and pot haul proved.

"Calgary is the geographic natural through point," said drug unit Staff
Sgt. Roger Chaffin.

"The Trans-Canada Highway pipes right through here ... all those legitimate
commodities end up, whether by train or truck, in Calgary, and illegal
commodities such as drugs would likely follow those same routes."

Those suspicions were spectacularly confirmed when nearly $20 million in
cocaine and marijuana were found in a semi-trailer that police believe
originated in B.C.'s Lower Mainland and was headed into Calgary Saturday.

Calgary, like most major centres in North America, has a large
infrastructure in place, abundant cash resources and an element of
organized crime -- everything drug operations need to flourish.

"There's a lot of factors that would put Calgary in the position to be a
recipient, if not for distribution, then for warehousing or for drive
through," said Chaffin.

Calgary's proximity to the U.S. border and Hwy. 2 access makes Calgary that
much more enticing, he said.

The Saturday bust, possibly the largest in the city's history, should give
people new insight into the reality of the drug problem in Canada.

"The perspective this should give us is that these are the kinds of numbers
we usually associate with U.S. seizures," said Chaffin.

"We tend to, as a nation, believe that we don't have that kind of drug
activity here."

City and RCMP officers have carried out almost half a dozen successful
busts in the Calgary area in less than a week.

Yesterday, two homes in Arbour Lake were raided and more than 300 marijuana
plants -- worth more than $500,000 -- were confiscated by police.

Coincidental timing is probably the main reason for the high pace of drug
busting activity, but it is also representative of the dedication and work
done by police officers, said Chaffin.