DRUG TRAFFICKERS DEAL ON THE NET

Cops face a daunting challenge as computer-savvy drug traffickers begin
using the Internet to buy and sell stashes.

"The Internet is a tool just like anything else, there's no reason why drug
traffickers who have lots of money will not use the Internet as a tool of
doing business," said Tom Keenan, a University of Calgary computer security
expert.

According to a report released recently by the United Nations International
Narcotics Control Board, drug traffickers worldwide are increasingly taking
advantage of encrypted e-mail and other Internet technology to sell their
stashes, launder money and trade tips and techniques.

Chat rooms are popular for people to discuss recipes for making synthetic
drugs or problems encountered in growing marijuana, said Paul Marsh with
the RCMP in Ottawa.

With 700 million people online at the end of last year and Internet use
doubling every month, the task is becoming more challenging, admitted Det.
Dave Johnston of the Edmonton Police Service's technological crime unit.

"It's just that it's so big and there's so much going on, how do you
people-watch on all areas of the Internet?" Johnston said. "That's the
biggest difficulty that law enforcement is facing right now, is manpower."

And Keenan added drug dealers can arrange deals from just about anywhere.

"You can be using it from anywhere, like an Internet cafe or, increasingly,
from mobile devices," he said. "So physically, there's no way to trace
where you are or it's extremely difficult."

It comes down to good police work, Keenan said, if cops are to catch
Internet traffickers.

"There are literally millions of e-mails every day," said Johnston.
"Obviously we can't monitor traffic like that because it's illegal in
Canada. We would need warrants to do that ... You've got the Internet,
you've got e-mail, you've got news groups, you've got chat rooms. There's
just so much of it, how do you watch all of it?"

Law enforcement agencies have wanted to make encryption illegal, but police
won't always have the right key to decode messages, Keenan said.

But Mounties say anyone using the Internet for crime can't expect to get
away with it.

"The use of technology does not necessarily mean one can avoid detection,
however," Marsh said. "Trails, albeit electronic, are even left in
cyberspace for the police to follow."