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Organized Crime and Cross Border Movement
Threat Issue
As is the case in other markets, the level of power and influence an organized crime group exerts in a criminal market is largely a reflection of how indispensable it is to other groups and individuals.This is largely due to its ability to provide key services and/or carry out operations over wide geographical expanses, more often than not across interprovincial and international borders.These operations often translate into influence over the criminal marketplaces of other cities, provinces and regions. It is often from the country’s primary criminal hubs (the major metropolitan Organized areas of southern Quebec and Ontario, and the B.C. Lower Mainland) that the most powerful groups exert their influence and facilitate the connection between the regions and the national, and international criminal marketplace.The country’s other urban centres act as secondary criminal hubs in contraband distribution and criminal influence over more limited spaces.
During the months of October to December 2004, nearly U.S.$600,000 destined for Canada were seized in three separate incidents near the Maine/New Brunswick border. |
Given that illegal drugs and contraband are mainstays of the Canadian criminal marketplace, the ability to get commodities across borders is an essential attribute of any significant criminal group.Thus, organized crime will continue to develop strategies to exploit Canada’s borders to illegally move people and various types of contraband commodities such as drugs, firearms, undeclared currency, both in and out of Canada. In some instances, particularly at Canada’s marine and air ports, these strategies are assisted by a small number of criminally influenced individuals that are employed within the legitimate work force.
Overview of Criminal Activity at Marine Ports,Airports and Land Border Areas
Marine ports are exploited by organized crime to move contraband, particularly illicit drugs, into Canada.Although historically the concern has been focused on the country’s three largest container ports of Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax due to the vast quantities of commercial cargos they handle, all Canadian marine ports that receive international traffic are potentially vulnerable to exploitation by organized crime.Thus, all forms of marine movement including commercial and fishing vessels, cruise ships, ferries and private vessels may be utilized.
In spite of a number of law enforcement successes over the past three years, certain organized crime groups have been able to maintain either a direct or indirect presence in the country’s three largest ports.Their presence is assured by individuals,working for them directly or simply providing services as members of other groups, who have jobs giving them access to the cargo.
Cocaine, heroin, opium, hashish, and ecstasy are the illicit drugs most commonly encountered by law enforcement at many of Canada’s marine ports. In addition, other commodities such as illicit tobacco, counterfeit goods, as well as illegal migrants have been encountered at marine ports. Organized crime also uses marine ports to export products such as stolen vehicles, particularly those with a higher resale value, concealed within marine containers to illegal vehicle markets in the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and Asia. Marine container movement continues to pose a threat as it is the predominant means to internationally transport commercial goods.
In December 2004, 52 kilograms of cocaine was seized during an intensive vessel search at the Port of Belledune in New Brunswick. The vessel was carrying coal and arrived at the Belledune from Maricaibo,Venezuela, and was en route to a Quebec marine port.Two plastic bags of cocaine were discovered in the sea chest area below the water line of the vessel in an area accessible only by divers. |
All Canadian airports receiving international flights are at potential risk of being exploited by organized crime in the movement of illegal goods and migrants. In particular, Canada’s three largest international airports in Montreal,Toronto and Vancouver are exploited to various degrees due to the large numbers of individual travelers, and quantities of commercial cargo they receive daily from numerous countries, many which are potential sources or transit points in the illegal movement of contraband and migrants. Similar to a small city, these large airports occupy a large physical space with numerous companies engaged in various functions that collectively employ thousands of individuals, some of whom are potentially vulnerable to criminal exploitation.
Illegal migrants are encountered at international airports attempting to enter Canada, some with fraudulent documents, and often assisted by organized crime groups, particularly Asian organized crime groups located in Canada and abroad. In some instances, these illegal migrants are linked to subsequent smuggling attempts into the United States. In terms of illicit drugs, law enforcement most frequently encounters heroin, cocaine and ecstasy at the international airports. Other types of contraband discovered at Canada’s airports include non-declared jewelry and counterfeit goods.
Individuals, frequently associated to organized crime, attempt to bring illicit drugs into Canada through a variety of concealment methods such as false-sided suitcases, concealed on or in the person, or concealed within commercial cargo. Furthermore, illicit drugs are sometimes concealed on the aircraft or within unlisted luggage.This smuggling method involves a conspiracy of airport employees at both the flight’s point of origin and destination for the placement and subsequent retrieval of the illicit drugs.
Most organized crime groups are involved in the exploitation of the land border either directly by its own members, or indirectly as the recipients of contraband smuggled in by independent operators and/or brokers operating either on contract or on a freelance basis. Contraband, undeclared currency and illegal migrants move illegally in both directions along the Canada-U.S. border.This cargo is either concealed within the large volume of personal and commercial traffic that moves daily through designated ports of entry, or is surreptitiously moved across the vast border areas between these legal entry points. In this latter movement, smugglers use a wide variety of means such as: individuals walking across the border with backpacks; all-terrain vehicles;snowmobiles; aircraft; pickup trucks and small boats. In some instances, the unique geographical location of certain Aboriginal reserves that either straddle or are near the border is exploited to facilitate this illegal movement.
Negative Socio-economic Effects
Many of the illicit commodities distributed within Canada’s communities are not domestically produced and must be smuggled into the country. This border criminality can directly impact upon communities near or on the border as a result of organized crime related violence and/or the criminal recruitment of local inhabitants.The associated effects are felt throughout Canada as the smuggled contraband is criminally distributed. The border is essentially Canada’s first line of defence against many of the criminal activities perpetrated by organized crime.Thus, enforcement successes at the border directly assists the entire Canadian law enforcement community in its fight against organized crime, and impact on the ability of organized crime to be criminally effective and profitable.
“The CBSA recognizes the involvement of organized crime in the illegal entry of goods and people into Canada and supports the concept of partnerships and multi-disciplinary units to attack organized crime and criminal activity including terrorism.” Roger Lavergne, Director, |
The illegal border movement of contraband products such as illicit tobacco and alcohol deprives federal and provincial coffers of potential tax revenues. Moreover, the smuggling and distribution of contraband can contribute to the corruption of public officials or private sector professionals. Its adverse affects and activity causes deployment of significant law enforcement resources to monitor and attempt to combat these illegal activities.
There are potential direct effects on various land border communities through the smuggling actions of organized crime. In particular, certain border area Aboriginal territories have been targeted by organized crime and exploited as either conduits for illegal cross-border activity and/or as storage/distribution centres for this activity.
This criminal activity and organized crime involvement could potentially create tensions within any community between a small number of individuals engaged in this criminal activity and the rest of the community who view it as a corrupting and unwelcome influence. Of note, it can also be a corrupting influence on the youth of the community who may favourably view the material benefits of crime in comparison to the benefits of other legitimate employment opportunities within their community.
