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.
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