Pubdate: Sat, 22 Feb 2014
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2014 Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact: http://www.edmontonsun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.edmontonsun.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Author: Allison Salz

HUGE DRUG NUMBERS

Cops Have Seized $500 M Worth Since 2006

Alberta's Law Enforcement Response Team says it has seized over $500 
million in drugs off of the streets since its 2006 inception.

At events in Edmonton and Calgary on Friday, ALERT announced that it 
had surpassed the $500-million marker in the wake of a few 
"significant" busts in the past year.

"Half a billion dollars. That's enough dollar bills that if laid end 
to end, would cover the distance from Fort McMurray to Lethbridge," 
said ALERT Insp. Dan Konawalchuk.

"It's been long accepted that drugs are the currency of organized 
crime groups. Taking these out of the hands of those groups are 
helping us dismantle their operations."

In 2013 cops took over $4.1 million of drugs off Edmonton streets, 
close to $14.5 million in Calgary, and $989,000 worth of substances 
in Wood Buffalo. Marijuana seizures carried the most value, the 
agency said, followed by cocaine and methamphetamine.

A few significant busts in 2013 pushed the ALERT over the half 
billion mark; the seizure total now sits at $511,970.145.

Although the numbers sound promising, Konawalchuk said it would be 
purely speculation to say the work has made a significant dent in the 
drug trade in the province.

"That's impossible for us to say. I can tell you that the size of our 
seizures seems to have gone down. We like to think we're having a 
significant impact," he said.

"We want to try and get as much of it off the street as we possibly 
can. Absolutely we are (having an impact), and I think this shows it."

Konawalchuk added that although the focus is often on the drug 
traffickers themselves, it's important that Albertans are educated 
about drugs and the drug trade as well.

"We can point the finger at them all day long, but it's important 
that we educate our youth. If they're going to experiment and use it, 
then that gives it a market," he said. "It's deeply important." To 
date, ALERT has also seized more than 400 firearms and arrested 
nearly 7,000 offenders.

ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta government to 
bring together the province's most sophisticated law enforcement resources.

It includes nearly 400 municipal police, RCMP and sheriffs.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom