DRUG ARRESTS AND SEIZURES ARE UP

The last year has been a busier one for the Tri-Force Drug Unit.

Detective Staff Sergeant John Horne, unit commander for the Tri-Force
Kenora Joint Forces Drug Unit, says drug-related arrests and seizures are
up across the region this year, thanks to an increase in the number of
people calling in with tips and more accurate information.

"I think we've got them really thinking," Horne said, explaining illicit
drug use is like stealing and drinking, you're never going to stop it. "I
don't know if we've got them running ... but I think with the limited
resources we have, we're being really effective in keeping a handle on it."

The Tri-Force Drug Unit investigates drug trafficking and production at the
local, provincial, federal and international levels. It's required to help
all police services in the region with enforcement and education.

The unit also works with the Kenora/Dryden Joint Forces Drug Unit which
does street level investigations into drug trafficking and production
issues raised by the public and Crime Stoppers.

Horne said the number of arrests and drug-related charges the Tri-Force
Drug Unit has made in the region are up from last year.

There have been almost 600 arrests so far in 2001 while last year there
were just under 500 arrests made, and this year there have been about 1,200
drug-related charges laid compared to about 1,000 in 2000.

Up to November, the unit had seized 178 kilograms of marijuana, 89
kilograms of hashish oil, about one kilogram of hashish, and a little more
than 2 kilograms of cocaine (about one kilogram more than last year.)

Add to that about $600,000 in seized cash compared to about $400,000 last
year. They've also seized $1.2 million in assets seized through major
investigations. Horne said value of seized drugs is consistent at about
$6.5 million.

Horne said the figures for marijuana are about the same as last year, but
there's been an increase in the volume of seizures for crack cocaine, hash
oil, and prescription drugs.

"What we're seeing is crack cocaine, especially in the Kenora area," Horne
said.

The unit seized six ounces of crack cocaine during a bust in the city back
in October, the biggest seizure of crack cocaine the unit has ever had.

Horne added about 90 per cent of the crack cocaine the unit has seized has
come from the Kenora area, a trend he attributes to Kenora's proximity to
Winnipeg.

The majority of illicit drugs come from Winnipeg, Horne said, and outlaw
motorcycle gangs control the majority of the illicit drug trade in the
Northwest region.

Horne was reluctant to name names, but there's now only one outlaw
motorcycle gang in the area - the Hells Angels, who have chapters in
Thunder Bay and Winnipeg. The Winnipeg chapter has a lot of connections to
Kenora, Horne said.

Crack cocaine is more addictive than the regular variety, and Horne said
dealers are using hotel rooms in Kenora to peddle their wares. By the time
police hear about it they've taken off.

Meanwhile the number of prescription drugs seized has doubled over the last
year - last year 495 units of prescription drugs were seized.

The supply for illicit prescription drug use is supplied by doctors duped
by patients into giving them drugs, the theft of prescription forms, or the
sale of prescriptions.

The increased seizure of hash oil can be attributed to a one-year
investigation in which the unit seized 100 kilograms ($1.8 million worth)
of hash oil, and charged 20 people.

The ringleader of the drug operation that imported hash oil from Jamaica
into Canada through Thunder Bay was sentenced to 10 years in prison, Horne
said.

A positive sign, said Horne, is information showing drug use is down in the
region, especially in the area of marijuana use by students.

That drop of about three per cent in marijuana use could be due to a number
of things, Horne said. For example it could be education, enforcement,
smarter kids, or it could be a change in the way the survey that gathered
the information was conducted. "Anything that goes down is positive," he
said. The Tri-Force Drug unit consists of full-time members from the Kenora
Police Service, the OPP drug section, the Northwest Region of the OPP, the
RCMP Thunder Bay drug section, and the Thunder Bay Police drug section.