Pubdate: Sat, 22 Feb 2014
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2014 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: 
http://www.calgaryherald.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor.html
Website: http://www.calgaryherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Clara Ho

CITY BECOMING DRUG HUB, POLICE SAY

Illegal Narcotics Worth $14m Seized in 14 Months

Alberta's drug investigators have seized more than $14 million worth 
of illegal drugs in Calgary over the past 14 months, more than three 
times the amount recovered in Edmonton, according to figures released Friday.

Calgary's haul represented nearly 70 per cent of the $20.8 million 
worth of drugs seized by members of Alberta Law Enforcement Response 
Teams across the province over the same period. Drug seizures in 
Edmonton totalled more than $4.1 million. "It used to be Vancouver, 
but now we're seeing a trend where Calgary is growing and now 
becoming a hub for (drug) distribution," said Insp. Gerry Francois 
with ALERT. "We're seeing drugs coming in and being distributed in 
the north, east, into the other provinces."

The most valuable seizures since January 2013 included 12,165 
marijuana plants worth $14.8 million, 26,774 grams of cocaine worth 
$3 million, and 160,394 grams of marijuana worth $1.6 million.

Since its inception in 2006, ALERT has kept more than $500 million 
worth of illegal drugs off Alberta streets.

ALERT CEO Insp. Charmaine Bulger said 6,809 people have been arrested 
and 615 firearms have been seized since 2006.

"Drugs are the currency of organized crime, and taking that out of 
their hands and out of their businesses, it helps us to dismantle 
some of the organized crime that goes on in the province," Bulger said.

Jonathan Denis, Alberta Justice Minister and Solicitor General, 
credited the collaborative efforts of the agencies involved.

"If we did this individually, force by force, I would suggest that 
you wouldn't have anywhere close to the $500-million total amount of 
illegal drugs seized," he said.

One of the largest busts came in 2012 when ALERT investigators seized 
27.5 kilograms of cocaine worth about $2.5 million from searches in 
Calgary and Edmonton, which resulted in charges against six people in Alberta.

Most recently in January, ALERT - in a joint probe with the U.S. Drug 
Enforcement Administration - dismantled a multimillion-dollar cocaine 
trafficking ring in Calgary, which led to smuggling charges against three men.

Bulger said when she started her policing career more than three 
decades ago, there wasn't integration among law enforcement agencies 
in the war against drugs, and investigators were working in individual "silos".

But since 2006, when ALERT was formed as a provincial umbrella 
organization, there are now about 400 city police officers, RCMP 
officers and Alberta Sheriffs working together and sharing resources 
and intelligence.

"This allows us to work off all our best products, put it together 
and tackle organized crime," Bulger said.

"By integration, we are getting ahead of the curve. We are getting 
close to their structure. Some of these groups are very organized. We 
have to be organized in our approach. I would say we are in the game 
very well with them."

ALERT received $32 million in provincial funding for 2013-2014, but 
did not provide a breakdown of how much of that money was earmarked 
specifically for drug efforts. The individual partner agencies also 
contribute their vehicles, equipment and other resources.

While authorities were unable to say how much of an impact a $500 
million seizure makes on the overall drug trade in Alberta, Denis 
said "it's no small dent".

"We don't know the exact amount that's in the underworld," he said. 
"At the same time, when you're able to seize $500 million worth of 
illegal drugs, that is a significant dent in their total operations. 
That comes directly out of the pocket of organized crime and that's 
where we need to hit them."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom