Pubdate: Thu, 09 Dec 2004
Source: Penticton Herald (CN BC)
Copyright: 2004 The Okanagan Valley Group of Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.pentictonherald.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/664
Author: Don Plant
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

SPOTLIGHT SPOOKS POT SMUGGLERS

Publicity over last month's discovery of two helicopters on the Penticton 
Indian reserve has spooked the potsmuggling community.

Smugglers prefer using helicopters to transport loads of B.C. bud across 
the U.S. border because they don't require a landing strip and can land 
almost anywhere, said a former smuggler who asked not to be identified

There's no evidence the helicopters found in a remote area of the reserve 
were connected to the drug trade, but media speculation suggesting they may 
have been used to ferry marijuana to the U.S. has sent a chill through 
smugglers who use the aircraft to move their product

"If anyone sees a helicopter in Osoyoos or around Penticton or the whole 
Southern Interior, that will be on their mind. People using helicopters (to 
smuggle) are saying 'Let's hold off for a while,' the source said

Flying 95 kilograms of bud across the border can earn a pilot $40,000. One 
helicopter making 90 trips is not unusual

But a smuggler's perception of how difficult it is to transport the 
contraband over the line is directly influenced by his destination and the 
odds of losing his load

Police likely tried to obtain a court order that allows them to install 
tracking devices in the two helicopters. If the owners used them to smuggle 
marijuana before, they'll be reluctant to now, the source said. "After this 
happened, there probably won't be helicopters used at all." Although many 
have been charged, no one has ever been convicted of using an aircraft to 
smuggle pot out of B.C. Still, the estimated number of smugglers operating 
in B.C. has dropped to fewer than 50 from 1,500

The rising Canadian dollar has reduced demand for B.C. bud. Asian gangs 
have set up marijuana factories in the Lower Mainland and hired low-wage 
workers to tend the crops. The quality is poor enough that B.C. bud is 
losing its reputation for high potency south of the border. "Mexicans are 
coming up with better quality and they're selling it for $1,000 a pound. 
It's all putting pressure on B.C.'s pot industry," the source said

A good example is the Kootenay region, where it's next to impossible to 
sell marijuana because there are no buyers, he said

"Pot is stockpiled everywhere. Americans don't come here anymore."
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