Pubdate: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 Source: Penticton Western (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 Penticton Western Contact: http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1310 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) HIGH NUMBER OF BORDER SEIZURES AT OSOYOOS AND ACROSS CANADA A busy summer of seizures at the Osoyoos border crossing was echoed in Canada's 2004 statistics. Daily and nightly calls of suspicious activity flooded the RCMP office last summer, said Staff-Sgt. Walt Makepeace from the South Okanagan RCMP in Osoyoos. The high level of activity during the warmer months was due to an increase in people, he said. Paula Shore from the Canada Border Service Agency - which includes water, land and air crossing - said heroin seizures doubled and cocaine seizures tripled in the Pacific region, which represents B.C. and the Yukon, in 2004 over the previous year. In total there were 2,174 drug seizures, 465 weapons seizures, 732 currency seizures, 16 abducted children recovered, 3,350 immigration violations, 1,700 removals of individuals from the country, 10,424 interceptions of agricultural products, 1,415 arrested and $516,221 in criminal fines at the region's 43 points of entry. The higher rate of seizures can be attributed to the working relationship between the RCMP and the cross-border patrol and sheriffs in Okanogan County in Washington. The Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) was also on hand during the summer to deal with the increased activity, said Makepeace. The majority of seizures during the summer were marijuana and money, mainly heading south, said Makepeace, with most of the tips coming from local residents on the Canadian side. People-smuggling tips account for a significant number of calls to the station. The majority of attempts are by Korean and Chinese immigrants running on foot into the United States, he said. Two weeks ago, RCMP caught two people trying run across, he said. The number of seizures of all types has decreased significantly since the summer, said Makepeace. However, he said he expects it to rise with the temperatures. - ---