Pubdate: Mon, 22 Dec 2008 Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Copyright: 2008 The Vancouver Sun Contact: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477 Author: Kim Bolan Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/mexico CRIME GROUPS CAN THRIVE IN HARD TIMES, POLICE SAY As People Find Times Harder, They Are Willing To Do More Illegal Things To Make A Buck, SFU Professor Says Some Canadians facing economic hard times could be more willing to risk involvement in criminal activity out of financial desperation, experts in organized crime say. Criminal groups in B.C. and across Canada can use that desperation to weather the current recession better than legitimate businesses, police specialists and an academic told The Vancouver Sun. But the growing number of criminal organizations can also be hurt by a stalled economy, Simon Fraser University Professor Stephen Easton said. "I think that organized crime on one hand is like all of us -- the scale of economic activity affects its behaviour and when that scale is reduced because you are in recession, the scale goes down a bit," Easton said. "On the other hand, there is a bit of substitution, as people find times harder, they are willing to do more illegal things to make a buck." Already, B.C. gangs are raking in more money from cross-border marijuana smuggling because of the drop in the value of the Canadian dollar. But some of those increased profits are being eaten up by a jump in cocaine prices fueled by the violent war between Mexican drug cartels, RCMP Supt. Brian Cantera said. "There have been some notable changes in drug prices, but it has not necessarily been a result of the Canadian economic situation. It has been more to do with the Mexican situation," he said. "What we have seen is a substantial increase in the price of cocaine locally. It is just like any more item that goes to market really. You pay more for milk if the producer or the middle man is charging an extra fee, a transportation fee or whatever." Cantera, who heads the RCMP's regional drug enforcement section, would not say what the going rate is to buy a kilo of cocaine for importation into Canada. But the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration pegs cocaine prices south of the border as ranging from $12,000 to $35,000 per kilo. He said as the recession deepens, the profits of the drug world could lure more people into criminal schemes. "We are going to likely see an increase in enterprise crimes within the region for all the obvious reasons -- if you can't make money legitimately, you are potentially going to reach out to making money through some type of enterprise crime," said Cantera. "It seems to me to be the way it might occur by virtue of, in some people's case, survival." Organized crime is already benefiting from cheaper gasoline, said RCMP Insp. Mike Ryan, who heads the Integrated Proceeds of Crime unit. More truckers may be prepared to move drugs north and south even if there is a deviation to their normal routes because of the lower price at the pump, Ryan said. "The reduced fuel costs create more flexibility in the transportation system for organized crime to take advantage of," he said. The general public -- with no intention of getting in bed with criminal gangs -- could fall prey to "scammers and conners" linked to organized crime who are offering better rates of return on investments during the recession, Ryan said. Already crime groups are heavily into producing knock-offs of designer goods or electronics. If more people are strapped financially, they could be more enticed into purchasing counterfeit goods, he said. But crime groups -- like legitimate businesses -- also feel the pain of the credit crunch and struggle like other businesses to get their hands on capital. Criminals have sources of cash in the community and often make a series of short-term loans to put together a drug deal, Ryan said. "If the organized crime group does not have the bag of cash to draw upon, then they have this network of individuals that they can turn to and say, 'Hey can I borrow $40,000 from you and I will pay you back in three weeks and I'll pay you back $45,000.' "Meanwhile, that $40,000 loan is just part of a series of loans that go to form a large shipment of money southbound that results in the purchase of cocaine and shipment northbound." Easton, who authored a 2004 study estimating the marijuana industry to be worth billions a year in B.C., said the ups and downs of the criminal economy have many parallels to the legitimate business world. Said Easton: "Illegal industry is just another industry after all at that level." - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin