Pubdate: Mon, 19 Jun 2017
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2017 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Authors: Robert Fife & Steven Chase
Page: A1

OPIOID SELLERS USE INTERNET'S DARK CORNERS TO STUMP RCMP, CHINA

The RCMP and China's Ministry of Public Security are being stymied in
joint investigations to stem the smuggling of powerful synthetic
opioids into Canada because the trade is largely conducted through the
so-called Dark Web.

RCMP Chief Superintendent Scott Doran says most of the opioids such as
fentanyl and its chemical precursors arrive in small packages through
the mail from China, predominantly in the Vancouver area.

He told The Globe and Mail that bilateral efforts to track down the
Chinese dealers behind the illegal opioid trade have proved almost
impossible because of clandestine Internet trading sites, where buyers
can visit anonymously and buy the drugs with bitcoin, a digital
currency often regarded as untraceable.

The Dark Web is part of the Internet that is intentionally hidden and
requires special software and modified browsers to access. The
encryption used on these sites has proved difficult for the police to
crack.

"The Dark Web makes things virtually undetectable and untraceable. So
it is really hard to get back to the origin," Chief Supt. Doran said)

"We can find recipients who are receiving packages from the Dark Web …
but the reality is that the people buying it, unless they have an
intimate relationship with the seller, they don't know who the seller
is either," Chief Supt. Doran said.

Canada is in the midst of an opioid crisis that has led to an
explosion of fatal overdoses. New figures suggest almost 2,500
Canadians died from opioid-related overdoses last year. In 2015, an
estimated 2,000 Canadians died from overdosing on opioids - both
illicit and prescription. The problem is so pervasive that police,
doctors, health officials and politicians at all levels are scrambling
to contain the epidemic.

The collaboration between the RCMP and China only began last year
after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed an agreement with Chinese
Premier Li Keqiang during a visit to Ottawa in September, 2016. It led
to a formal intelligence-sharing agreement between the RCMP and
Ministry of Public Security.

In exchange for Chinese co-operation to stop the flow of illicit
synthetic opioids, Beijing expects the RCMP to provide intelligence
and help track down Chinese nationals living in Canada who are accused
of economic crimes such as money laundering, bribery and theft.

Chief Supt. Doran said Chinese authorities are just as frustrated as
the Mounties in trying to arrest the opioid dealers who are embracing
the Dark Web and sending the deadly drugs to Canada.

"They also recognize that the Dark Web is what it is and it is
difficult for them to do as well. They may have more ability to turn
websites off but, again, getting behind the websites and who the
administrators are and so on is very difficult," he said.

In 2016, the Mounties and Canada Border Security agents seized about
18 kilograms, mainly at mail-sorting facilities in Canada. While that
may not seem to be a large quantity, just a few flakes of opioids can
be fatal.

"Now, 18 kilograms, if we are talking about cocaine and marijuana,
would be relatively insignificant but given the potency of fentanyl
and the small amount it takes to derive a result for drug users, 18
kilograms is significant," Chief Supt. Doran said.

China is the global source of fentanyl. The country's vast chemical
and pharmaceutical industries are poorly regulated, with many
facilities operating illegally.

However, Chief Supt. Doran, director-general of the RCMP's criminal
operations, said Chinese authorities have been quite helpful in
efforts to combat the trade in fentanyl, pointing out that Beijing
banned the manufacture and sale of four variations of fentanyl on
March 1, a move that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Agency
called a "game changer" in the battle against manufactured opioids.

"They have been quite aggressive in lifting chemicals on their
schedules. So as we discover a new molecular structure to a fentanyl
that isn't on their schedule, they have been very aggressive in adding
illicit chemical compounds to their schedule, which is a help because
when it is not on there, it is not unlawful for someone to have or
ship or do anything with," he said.

Chief Supt. Doran insisted Canada is careful about the intelligence it
shares and does not send Chinese dissidents back home. Any Chinese
citizen that Beijing wants extradited for economic crimes can fight
deportation in Canadian courts, he said.

"We have a mutually beneficial relationship. Of course they have
issues with criminality, criminals here in Canada," he said. "They
want what they want but we have a robust justice system that sort of
has checks and balances as to people being sent back to any country.
We don't circumvent the judicial process when we are dealing with them."

The RCMP will even share intelligence with their Chinese counterparts
about Canadian citizens if they are involved in crimes in China.

"Where it is appropriate and where we can justify sharing because we
are obviously mindful with any country of sharing information with
anyone who is Canadian born, but if the information is reliable and
safe to do so, we will share," he said.

Parliament recently passed a law that prohibits the unregistered
importation of pill presses and allows border officials to screen
packages weighing 30 grams or less if there are reasonable grounds.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in a
recent report to Congress that most of the fentanyl making its way to
the United States has been manufactured - often legally - in Chinese
factories before being shipped to criminal networks in Mexico and, to
a lesser extent, Canada, before being smuggled over the border. In
other cases, the drugs are purchased on clandestine Internet trading
sites.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt