News B.C. at the Root of Hu By Garth McLennan, News Editor Bima Columbia has morphed into one of the planet’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of a wide variety of deadly drugs. Cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, marijuana, and crystal meth are just a few of the illegal substances being sent around the world through the ports and skies of B.C. The main suppliers and makers producers of these drugs are believed to be a number of Asian, motorcycle and Indo-Canadian gangs. According to a recent version of the RCMP’s annual Drug Situation Report, the drug trade in British Columbia is worth an approximate $2.3 billion per year. B.C. has gone from a consumer nation to one of the most prolific international banned substance producers in the world today. In some instances, Asian and Indo- Canadian gangs have aligned to boost the size of drug shipments to the United States. Almost all of Canada’s crystal meth is generated in domestic labs while gangs from different parts of Asia and India import the key ingredients for meth. The report has brought to light Canada’s leading role in methamphetamine production and distribution over the past four years, highlighting Canadian imported meth seizures in New Zealand and Japan. Indo-Canadian gangs are having heroin created in Afghanistan, where production has surged, and then have the drugs sent to India. From India, the heroin is transported to Canada and resold. It has been estimated that most Vancouver and Toronto heroin addicts intake over two metric tonnes of the drug per year. In lethal combinations, police have found crystal meth mixed with cocaine. The report noted that drug smugglers bring their cargo in and out of Canada via small-cargo planes, helicopters, boats, ATV’s, snowmobiles, and hidden compartments in backpacks and suitcases. Because of B.C.’s prime port locations on the water, as well as it being within travel distance to Asia and the rest of North America, the province has become a gateway in drug distribution to other countries, and the gangs producing the drugs are raking in big money: Because of this success, the gangs are now branching out to other drugs. “Criminal organizations that previously specialized in one drug have now branched out into multi-commodity trafficking, importation and exportation. These organizations are powerful, well- connected, and are dealing in high profit- yielding illicit ventures across the globe,” said Allan Castle, the top man in the RCMP’s criminal analysis department in the Pacific area. “Millions of ill-gotten gain goes to some of the least scrupulous people in this province.” It is believed that because of Canada’s highly diverse and multi-ethnic population, the province’s drug problems have gone global. British and Australian authorities have seized Canadian made and imported cocaine. One particular sector of the drug trade that has come to grow exponentially is ecstasy. Canada has taken over Holland’s not-so-reputable ge Global Drug Problem position as the world’s leading ecstasy supplier. There have been several ecstasy related apprehensions that have raised Canada’s awareness of just how big this problem is becoming. In 2006, Australian coast- guard officials searched an Australian bound vessel coming from Canada. It was carrying computer monitors that were jammed with 135 kgs of cocaine and over 120, 000 ecstasy pills. That same year, Australian police seized the contents of a ship coming from B.C. that contained 1.2 million ecstasy tablets. Also in 2006, a Canadian citizen was detained in Columbia while traveling to Ecuador with an incredible 2,570 ecstasy pills. Castle believesthatamainreason for B.C.’s extensive drug distribution connections is its lengthy history of selling and smuggling marijuana into the United States. The primary producers of pot in B.C. are biker and Asian gangs. Vietnamese-Canadians are also on the rise in marijuana distribution. Castle also thinks that the lax Canadian court system is partially to blame for the expansive drug operations in British Columbia. He says that criminal associations most likely believe the Canadian courts present a far lower threat than their American counterparts. The big problem facing authorities is it is virtually impossible for police to search the majority of shipments in a major import-export place like B.C. Thus while law enforcement is imposing stricter security measures, the British Columbian drug trade is still on the rise. Canadian Forces Acquire Powerhouse Tanks By Garth McLennan, News Editor ‘Ts Canadian military has confirmed plans to lease up to 100 new Leopard 2A6M tanks from Germany and the Netherlands to supplement their aging tank force in their Afghanistan campaign. Immediately, Canadian forces 6 will have 20 of these new tanks put into use. The powerful Leopard 2A6M’s can fire at extreme accuracy 500 meters from a target, and can even hit targets up to four kilometers away. The new Leopards are bigger, better armored, particularly against bombs and landmines, and break down less often then the previous Leopard models. The new Leopards are also twice as fast, and the added armor protection is a big plus for Canadians. In the week preceding the new tank announcement, eight Canadians had been killed by road-side bombing. “It’s probably the most modern battle tank in the world” said Major Trevor Gosselin, who is the commander of the battle tank C Squadron. The tank update is in many respects long overdue. Canada hasn’t purchased or leased updated tanks since the Korean War, the last time the Canadian military employed tank battalions. The need for newer, better tanks was illustrated by recent bloody battles in the Afghan Panjwaii District, including the Canadian-led Operation Medusa, held in September of 2006. The battle featured heavy combat and firefighting, with suicide bombers killing Canadian, American and British troops. Numerous civilians were also killed in the conflict. The new tanks are slated to arrive in the fall to meet Canadian specifications. Many Canadian soldiers are excited at the arrival of the new tanks, as the old Leopards had no air conditioning and have been considered a health risk as several troops have suffered severe cases of over heating. The old Leopard C2’s were originally designed in Germany in the 1960’s. They are eligible to remain in service until 2010, but they were initially bought in 1978-1979. When they were first purchased, the Canadian forces upgraded them, but they have grown out-dated since then. The government obtained 127 Leopard C2 tanks, and currently has 114 remaining. The federal government’s decision to upgrade and invest in the Canadian tank program is a reversal of the previous policy of the previous Liberal administration. In 2003, the Liberal government stated its intention to phase out Canadian tanks and replacing them with Mobile Gun Systems (MGS). The MGS is an eight wheeled all terrain vehicle with a cannon mounted on the top of it. The MGS would have cost $600-million to implement, and the tanks would have been eliminated from use.