Drug info - Cocaine comes to Canada

[Expat98]

From http://www.sharedresponsibility.gov....dcategoria=684

[top]Cocaine Comes to Canada

May 18, 2007

Edmonton’s economy is booming, but, unfortunately so is it’s cocaine consumption.

Edmonton, Canada has many things to boast about. It has one of the lowest population densities in North America, is baptized as the Festival City for all the fairs and events it hosts, has the largest mall in North America and Canada´s largest historic park.

Known for as an important research and educational center, employment in the technology sector has seen an employment increase of 37% in recent years. Today, Edmonton’s economy is the second most diverse in Canada. However, as Edmonton’s economy grows, so, it seems, does its appetite for cocaine, a drug wrongly associated with glamour and success.

According to the Edmonton Police Department, the city is living its worst cocaine problem ever. 19 known gangs operate in this city, with a population of 1 million. Together, they can move some 50 kilos of cocaine every ten days.

Staff Sergeant Kevin Garvin even reported that the drug is so in demand that gangs are helping each other out. "There's so much money to be made right now that they do that. These groups interact with each other and say: 'Hey, I'm out of my product. Can you front me?'… And they're like, 'Absolutely.' "

With the highest per capita parkland of any other Canadian city, it is no farfetched to surmise that Edmontonians are avid nature enthusiasts. Shared Responsibility wonders, though, how many are aware of the environmental repercussions of their growing habit.

[Euphoric]

Jun 19, 2007 02:53 PM

MONTREAL – Five Mexicans who had visitor status in Canada allegedly smuggled millions of dollars worth of cocaine into the country packed neatly in tubs of frozen mango puree, the RCMP says.


The Mexicans, who operated under the guise of a legitimately registered food import company, have been charged with importing cocaine and possession for the purpose of trafficking.


The five men were arrested and charged in early June after an elaborate sting operation conducted by the RCMP.


The RCMP's drug squad says it has seized 160 kilograms of cocaine that came via shipping container from Vera Cruz, Mexico, to Montreal after passing through the Bahamas.


The Mounties estimate the drugs to be worth about $38 million and say the 1.9 million potential doses of coke were destined for Quebec and Eastern Canada.


RCMP Staff-Sgt. Andre Potvin said Tuesday the cocaine was about 80 per cent pure.


"Cocaine that's sold on the street is at a lower purity level, so in this case we believe the cocaine was cut three times to make more doses," Potvin said.


Potvin said two of the five men operated Quality Mexiport, a legally registered Quebec company that was founded in 2005 and listed a bogus address for its offices. It also rented a refrigerated warehouse. The five accused lived out of hotels while in Montreal.


Potvin said that police have traced shipping records to show the first shipment from the company arrived in Montreal in July 2006. At least four shipments were sent using the same route.


Police say neither they nor Mexican authorities had ever heard of members of the group but haven't ruled out some link to Canadian organized crime.
"We have reason to believe they are linked," Potvin said. ``Obviously, someone that needs to bring in 160 kilograms of cocaine worth a considerable amount of money, basically you have to have a criminal network behind that."


Law enforcement were aware of the shipping routes being used by the accused but didn't know those routes were being used to ship drugs, Potvin said.


In late May, Canada Border Services Agency agents identified the container as one they wanted to examine closely, said Andre Suprenant of the CBSA.
Suprenant said 1.2 million containers pass through Montreal's port and about half are imports into Canada. CBSA agents generally investigate about 25,000 containers per year. The Mounties don't believe the group had any help from anyone at the port.

http://www.thestar.com/article/227074

Related:

Cocaine found in mango purée


Authorities alerted by transfer of Mexican `frozen' fruit shipment to unrefrigerated truck

Jun 20, 2007 04:30 AM


MONTREAL–The paperwork said the shipment was frozen mango purée, so suspicious detectives knew they'd found their men when the plastic tubs were transferred to an un-refrigerated truck.


It turns out the white pails of mango paste in a container from Mexico, intercepted by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officials two weeks ago in Montreal's bustling port, also hid 160 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated $38 million.


So investigators secretly replaced the cocaine with similarly weighted packages, and last week, when five Mexican nationals took delivery at a refrigerated warehouse – and dawdled outside with what was supposed to be frozen fruit pulp – the cops pounced.


The five men, three of whom entered Canada through Pearson International Airport last week, are now in custody facing drug importation and trafficking charges.


"This is not a group that was known to us ... they appeared to be offering an all-inclusive service to import and deliver the merchandise to their customers in Canada, who haven't yet been identified," RCMP Staff Sgt. André Potvin told a news conference, adding it is probable the drugs were destined for organized crime groups in Quebec and Atlantic Canada.


The drug shipment was contracted through Quality Mexport, a Quebec food importation company registered in 2005 by two men who provided a fictitious business address.


Investigators also found evidence that at least four other shipments had transited through the shell company – one of those arrested is listed as a Mexport director.


The Port of Montreal is a major entry point for international contraband – the 160-kilogram cocaine seizure falls well short of the 1,000 kilos seized in the late 1980s – and was long-controlled by the West End Gang, whose senior leaders were active in the stevedores' union.


A March 2007 report from the Senate Defence Committee pointed out that Canada's ports "are riddled with organized crime," screening procedures are deficient and that "significant problems endure."


But CBSA officials say they are becoming more effective at thwarting smugglers.


Roughly 25,000 of at least 600,000 international containers that transit annually through Montreal are opened by inspectors.


But CBSA official André Surprenant said that intelligence-sharing with other countries, new technology and other "indicators" are being used to intercept more and more shipments.

http://www.thestar.com/article/227348

[dbjay417]

Why cant people accept that cocaine is a luxury. The economy is booming, I bet their selling more diamonds, designer clothing, and CDs and DVDs too. Their probably seeling more Moet and Gray Goose too. We work hard and play hard, thats the middle class creed.