Zilos

Ottawa — Canada is becoming a more significant exporter of illicit drugs, a fact reflected in the figures on border drug busts, says a top customs official.

U.S. officials are making more seizures both at and south of the border, while major drug busts by Canadian border authorities have been fairly consistent since the mid-1990s, said George Webb, head of counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation for Canadian Border Services Agency.

One U.S. seizure last year yielded the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency more than $500-million worth of meta-amphetamines.

“In the old days, the flow of drugs was northbound, coming out of the United States,” Mr. Webb said. “That . . . has changed.

“We are now their biggest drug supplier, whether it be B.C. Bud, meta-amphetamines or steroids.”

Last year, there were 974 large seizures of drugs coming in to Canada, with a total street value of about $269.7-million, the agency reports.

That is down marginally from the 1,063 seizures in 2003, when the value was pegged at $600-million. There were 932 significant seizures in 2002 worth $292.8-million and 873 seizures in 2001 worth $865-million.

Shipments of processed ecstasy into Canada have fallen off in the past year or two, he said, because criminals have begun importing raw materials and processing the drug in-country.

Street values, as calculated by the RCMP, vary depending on the kind of drugs seized, the market and the size of individual seizures. Some years might net several containerloads of hashish, for example, while others do not.

“The values go up and down like a yo-yo,” Mr. Webb said. “If we miss one of those 40-foot container loads of hash, trust me, within a month we know it – we see the street value of it dropping.”

The figures represent major drug busts; they do not include seizures below a kilogram of marijuana, 10 grams of heroine, 50 grams of cocaine, 500 grams of hashish or 100 tabs of ecstasy.

Nearly 48 per cent of all drug seizures, large and small, were made through the postal system; another 31 per cent were at land border points.

While only 15 per cent were made at airports, they represent more than half the value – 51 per cent – of drugs seized.

On the flip side of drug deals, currency seizures in Canada have risen since Ottawa put restrictions on unreported money transfers over $10,000 several years ago. Most are made in British Columbia, Mr. Webb said.

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