Pubdate: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2002 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Jim Bronskill , Vancouver Sun CANADA'S HASHISH TRADE 'FUNDS TERRORISTS' RCMP Believe Extremists Get Millions From Drugs OTTAWA -- Proceeds from lucrative Asian hashish shipments smuggled into Canada likely ended up in the hands of "terrorist elements in Afghanistan," says an RCMP intelligence report. The Mounties believe violent extremists have routinely skimmed off a portion of the millions of dollars in drug money flowing annually from Canada to southwest Asia. A copy of the November 2001 criminal intelligence report, Narcoterrorism and Canada, was obtained by Southam News under the Access to Information Act. The declassified RCMP document represents the latest indication of Canada's role as a supplier of funds to terrorist groups operating abroad. The illicit drug trade in Afghanistan has long been considered a primary source of money for the recently deposed Taliban, which supported terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida network. According to police estimates, most of the more than 100 tonnes of hashish reaching the Canadian market each year has originated in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Canadian traffickers have paid an average of $200 US per kilogram to brokers in these countries, meaning about $20 million US has found its way back to producers annually. "Most of the documented hash importations have been with southwest Asian suppliers that have been in this business for 10 to 20 years," the RCMP report says. "It is likely that terrorist elements in Afghanistan tax producers, thereby receiving a portion of the potential proceeds." The report's release comes the same week the warship HMCS Toronto, part of the Canadian contingent in the armed campaign against terrorism, discovered a shipment of drugs aboard a fishing vessel off the coast of Pakistan. The narcotics, either opium or hashish, were found in plastic bags marked with the phrase Freedom of Afghanistan. The defence department said the seizure was under investigation, with coalition intelligence officials attempting to determine "possible links with al-Qaida or Taliban activities." U.S. President George W. Bush warned last December that "the traffic in drugs finances the work of terror" and implored Americans to shun illicit substances. The RCMP report, sensitive portions of which were withheld from release, notes narcotics have long been used by organized crime, extremist and terrorist groups as a means of generating revenue to support armed conflict. East Indian, Afghan, Pakistani, Tamil, Turkish and Middle Eastern extremist groups are "suspected of fund-raising in Canada by various means," the report adds. But the RCMP suggest further investigation is needed to confirm suspicions of Canadian links between terrorists and drug traffickers. "The closer scrutiny being afforded presently to the terrorist issue could (help uncover) more concrete information as to the terrorist elements in Canada resorting to drug trafficking as a means to finance their activities." In addition to singling out southwest Asia, the Mounties point to South American drug shipments entering Canada as a potential source of terrorist funds. Up to 25 tonnes of cocaine, worth as much as $50 million US, arrive in Canada annually. South American insurgent groups are involved in coca production, or exert control over regions containing coca fields, laboratories and airstrips, the RCMP note. These groups impose taxes ranging from $100 US to $500 US per kilogram to protect the area. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom