Pubdate: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) Copyright: 2004 The Leader-Post Ltd. Contact: http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361 Author: John Bermingham, CanWest News Service Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) MARIJUANA MAIL A SPECIAL DELIVERY VANCOUVER -- People opening their morning mail have been getting a surprise gift -- a letter stuffed with marijuana. The letters have been arriving in a Vancouver suburb as return mail, with their name and address as the return address. But when they open the envelope, the horrified residents have just received a sizeable bag of dope. They now fear drug traffickers are using their names and addresses to run drugs through the mail. Chris Taulu, who manages the Collingwood Community Policing Centre, said she's had four letters cross her desk in the past couple of months. Taulu figures each envelope contains enough pot for a half-dozen joints. She passed on the letters to Vancouver drug squad detectives. Taulu also told Vancouver city councillors of her concerns last week. "They borrow someone else's name and address as the return address," Taulu said. "If for any reason it's returned, guess where it's returned to. It's returned to the address on the envelope." When people open the envelopes, inside is a plastic bag of marijuana. In each case, she said, the letters were bound for addresses in the States, but didn't have enough postage. "There's no letter inside, just the marijuana in a bag," said Taulu. "Maybe they're just sending it out as samples. It's flat enough that it will get through Customs. Maybe it's the new way of shipping." One of the hapless victims is an elderly couple, Taulu says. "They were just terrified," she said. "Someone had broken into their car and stolen their registration." Another man phoned 9-1-1 and was told to flush it down the toilet, which he refused, until he handed the drugs over to police personally. "They're law-abiding citizens. What they're afraid of is what happens if it's a bigger pound of marijuana or cocaine, and the drug squad is knocking at their door. They could be caught up in a raid. How do I prove I didn't (do it). That's what's terrifying them." Vancouver Police spokeswoman Const. Sarah Bloor could not confirm whether an investigation is underway. But if police received the letters, she said, there will be inquiries made. "They're obviously in receipt of the information," she said. "And we'll have to look into it further." Canada Post spokesman John Caines had never heard of the scam before. "But it doesn't mean it hasn't happened," he said from Ottawa. "There are some people who use other people's addresses, and they get to the mail before the people take it out of the mail-box." - --- MAP posted-by: Derek