Pubdate: Mon, 31 Aug 2015
Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
Copyright: 2015 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.montrealgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274
Author: Jim Bronskill
Page: A9

POLICE CHIEFS WANT POWER TO INTERCEPT ITEMS IN MAIL

Rocket launcher, guns, drugs among items sent as parcels, a 2012 RCMP
report says

OTTAWA- Canada's police chiefs want legal authority to seize mail in
transit to stem the flow of illicit drugs, fake medicine and weapons
through the postal system.

In a recently passed resolution, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of
Police say contraband is being sent through the mail "with impunity"
because the law forbids officers from swooping in until a parcel
arrives at its destination.

This poses a "significant challenge" for police, who must find
"alternative ways to work within or around" the system to apprehend
criminals, the chiefs say. The resolution calls on the government to
amend the legislation governing Canada Post to provide police with the
ability to obtain a judge's approval to "seize, detain or retain
parcels or letters" in the mail stream. A November 2012 report the
RCMP prepared for the chiefs' organized crime committee revealed that
firearms, grenades, a rocket launcher, stun guns, dangerous chemicals
and drugs including cocaine, heroin and marijuana were sent through
the mail.

"These items represent a significant threat to postal workers and
Canadians," say the chiefs, who passed the resolution this month at
their annual conference in Quebec City. It is imperative that Canada
Post and the law enforcement community develop ways to effectively
work together to stop the transmittal of contraband through the postal
system."

The chiefs plan to write a letter to the federal public safety
minister urging changes to the law, hopefully to be followed up with a
meeting.
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MAP posted-by: Matt