Narcotics Smugglers Still Working the U.S.-Canada Border

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TORONTO 000448 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV SNAR KCRM CA SUBJECT: Narcotics Smugglers Still Working the U.S.-Canada Border REF: Toronto 90 Sensitive but Unclassified - protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Drug smuggling continues to be a major challenge for Ontario law enforcement. Organized criminal groups smuggle ecstasy, cocaine, and marijuana in and out of Canada on a regular basis, trying to exploit seams along the lengthy shared border with the United States, and Pearson International Airport--a major North American air hub. Information-sharing and operational cooperation between U.S. and Canadian law enforcement agencies has been key to several recent significant arrests and seizures on both sides of the border. END SUMMARY. -------------- Border Vulnerabilities -------------- ¶2. (U) The lengthy Ontario-U.S. border remains vulnerable to drug trafficking. In July 2007, cooperation between the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA),Chicago Police, and the Toronto Police Service led to the successful dismantling of a large high-grade marijuana smuggling organization and blocked a previously unknown smuggling route between Canada and United States. According to media reports, the accused drove through St. Joseph Island, near Sault Ste. Marie, and crossed the river to Michigan's upper peninsula where they were caught by U.S. authorities. The operation netted 13 arrests, more than 1,000 pounds of high-quality marijuana (with a wholesale value of over US$4 million),85 pounds of cocaine, and US$350,000 in cash. Four residents of Sterling Heights, Michigan have been charged with conspiracy to import marijuana into United States. In related action, Canadian police seized about US$41,000 in cash, C$487,000 in cash, 1,000 pounds of high-quality marijuana valued at C$3,000,000, and one kilo of cocaine valued at C$30,000 in raids in the Greater Toronto Area and British Columbia on July 5, 2007. 24 people were arrested for numerous drug and weapons related offences. -------------- Pearson Airport: A Drug Trafficking Hub -------------- ¶3. (U) In counter-narcotics operations at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP seized 100 kilos of drugs worth C$10.5 million on April 16, 2007 -- one of the largest drug seizures ever at Pearson. 40 kilos of cocaine and 61 kilos of hash oil were found under the cargo area floor of a SkyService jet returning from Jamaica. On May 20, the �0A;RCMP seized 75,000 doses of heroin worth about C$24 million at Pearson and in Scarborough. Three Toronto residents are facing charges. Police say the investigation, which began last December, specifically targeted female drug couriers smuggling heroin from Colombia. Police note that Southeast Asia has been a more typical point of origin for smuggled heroin. All three suspects are also alleged members of an Asian organized crime and drug trafficking network in Toronto, raising suspicions among Canadian law enforcement officials that Colombian drug syndicates have formed an alliance with Asian crime groups to distribute heroin in Toronto. ¶4. (U) The Toronto Airport Drug Enforcement Unit charged eight people with trafficking approximately 39 kilos of ecstasy tablets, 3 kilos of cocaine, 8 pounds of marijuana, and C$106,000 in cash on July 19, 2007. Police say that this group had members working within the airport who were able to utilize their positions to facilitate the movement of drugs and money. In conjunction with the Pearson investigation, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Atlanta, Houston, and Hartford seized MDMA that originated from the Toronto area. Four employees of two different companies at Pearson were charged with theft-related offences by Peel Regional Police in the incident. ¶5. (U) Six Pearson employees separately were arrested on drug trafficking charges on June 13, 2007. The arrests were part of a larger operation that resulted in 95 arrests for allegedly smuggling drugs into Canada from the United States. The smuggling activity is reportedly connected to the North York, Ontario branch of the Los Angeles-based gang "Driftwood Crips." The RCMP seized 30 kilos of cocaine at Pearson during the investigation. During the predawn raids across the Greater Toronto Area on June 13, police seized firearms, ammunition, and more than C$2 million in cocaine, marijuana, and other drugs. The operation involved more than 700 officers from the Toronto Police Services, RCMP, and Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). ¶6. (U) On October 16, 2007, CBSA officials at Pearson intercepted nine kilos of liquid hash and more than 16 kilos of marijuana in a shipment of fresh produce from the Caribbean. In total, officers intercepted 13 packages of liquid hashish worth more than C$320,000 and 15 individual packages of marijuana worth in excess of C$325,000. No arrests have been made in this case though the RCMP TORONTO 00000448 002 OF 003 is still investigating. On the same day, CBSA officers discovered seven kilos of cocaine worth C$875,000 inside a bag that arrived on a flight from Saint Vincent, in the Caribbean. In this case, the RCMP arrested a 38-year-old woman. On October 21, CBSA intercepted more than six kilos of cocaine (valued at about C$757,000) inside an unclaimed bag that arrived from Panama. -------------- Organized Crime-Bike Gang exposed -------------- ¶7. (U) Earlier this spring, on April 7, the OPP-led inter-agency Biker Enforcement Unit and the Halton Regional Police Tactical Rescue Unit arrested 31 people in connection with alleged criminal activities of the Hell's Angels and Bacchus Motorcycle Club. Police seized C$996,000 worth of GHB (Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate, a common "date rape" drug),C$982,800 worth of cocaine, and C$48,000 worth of hashish. -------------- European and North African Mob Connections -------------- ¶8. (U) On July 5, 2007, police seized 1,000 pounds of marijuana in raids on 29 houses across Canada. The raids were an effort to disrupt the Canadian operations of Eastern European criminal organizations. The organization had been smuggling marijuana from Canada to the U.S. and importing cocaine from the U.S. to Canada. The marijuana was shipped from British Columbia to Ontario and then across the border into Michigan. The group also smuggled cocaine into Canada from the U.S. Police also seized more than C$500,000 in Canadian and U.S. cash, three handguns, and two stolen vehicles. 24 Canadian residents of Romanian, Hungarian, and Algerian descent have been charged. -------------- -------------- Organized crime--RCMP and ICE bust international ring -------------- -------------- ¶9. (U) A ten-month long investigation with U.S. ICE agents led the RCMP to arrest 11 Toronto-area residents for drug trafficking in September 2007. Approximately 325 pounds of marijuana, 9 houses, 9 vehicles, and over C$350,000 in cash were seized by Canadian police, while ICE seized US$5.7 million in cash, 150 pounds of cocaine, and 800 pounds of marijuana. Authorities allege that the marijuana and cocaine were destined for transport across the U.S.-Canada border. ICE arrested 12 people in the U.S. -------------- Ontario Combats Crystal Meth -------------- ¶10. (U) On June 25 Ontario Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Monte Kwinter announced the province would allocate C$2 Million to fight the production, trafficking, and use of crystal methamphetamine. Crystal meth is one of the most addictive street drugs and among the hardest addictions to treat. C$1.5 million will boost OPP staffing and equipment. Fire departments across Ontario will use the remaining C$500,000 for investigations related to crystal meth labs and marijuana growing operations. The city of Stratford will also receive a special allocation of C$1 million for drug prevention and treatment programs in south central Ontario. -------------- "Grow-Op" Industry Continues to Boom -------------- ¶11. (U) Marijuana "grow-ops" are a multi-billion dollar business across Ontario. In the Niagara region alone in 2006, 45 grow-ops were busted and C$7 million worth of marijuana seized. The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) estimates 85% of grow-ops are connected to organized crime. It can cost as little as C$25,000 for the hydroponics, lighting, and chemicals needed to start a full scale grow-op, while a single plant can produce C$1,000 worth of drugs within just a few months. ¶12. (U) Guelph police arrested two people on July 25, 2007 after discovering 600 plants and hydroponic equipment in their residence during an early morning raid. Like most grow ops, the location was in a quiet, suburban area unlikely to attract attention. ¶13. (U) 20 unusually tall marijuana plants, up to 8 feet tall and valued at C$20,000 were seized from a house in Guelph on September ¶5. Guelph Police charged the man who grew them with possession for the purpose of trafficking. ¶14. (U) The Kawartha Combined Forces Drug Unit and OPP officers discovered C$10 million worth of marijuana in a private house in TORONTO 00000448 003 OF 003 Peterborough County on September 9. Three Mississauga-area residents were arrested. During 2007 Peel Regional Police (in the Greater Toronto Area) dismantled more than 40 illicit drug manufacturing operations. -------------- Other Notable Drug Seizures -------------- ¶15. (U) More than C$20 million worth of ecstasy was seized from Toronto's McCowan Road/Steeles Avenue area on March 6, 2007. A large amount of caffeine-used as a fixing agent in manufacturing ecstasy-was also seized. Used properly, the fixing agent would double the street value of the drug, to approximately C$43 million. Four people were charged. ¶16. (U) The OPP seized 673 pounds of marijuana and 30 pounds of marijuana "shake"(marijuana which has had the stems and seeds removed),worth C$1.4 million from a residence, in Toronto on September 14, 2007. Two men were charged after an unrelated search in rural Bruce County on the same day resulted in the discovery of 198 marijuana plants worth C$198,000. ¶17. (U) A music teacher at a Waterloo public school was charged with trafficking along with her husband, a one time soccer star and former Olympian on June 15. A raid on their home in Waterloo netted 8.5 kilos of marijuana, 3,000 ecstasy pills, drug paraphernalia, and more than C$11,000 and US$6,000 in cash. The marijuana and ecstasy were valued at C$85,000 and C$30,000, respectively. The teacher's husband was arrested in Port Huron, Michigan, after allegedly trying to smuggle almost six kilos of marijuana into the U.S. The drug bust was a combined effort of local police, the RCMP, ICE, and the Illinois State Police. ¶18. (SBU) Comment: Ontario-based law enforcement agencies are working hard to combat illegal drug smuggling. The volume and frequency of illicit drug seizures in the Greater Toronto Area and along the U.S.-Ontario border demonstrate the continued profitability, particularly for organized criminal groups, of the trans-border drug trade. Recent significant seizures on both sides of the border illustrate that information sharing and operational cooperation between U.S. and Canadian law enforcement agencies is helping to stem the flow of drugs, guns, and illicit cash across the border. NAY