Pubdate: Wed, 27 Mar 2002
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2002 Southam Inc.
Contact:  http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Forum: http://forums.canada.com/~nationalpost
Author: Adrian Humphreys

RCMP BOOSTS ITS PRESENCE OVERSEAS

Postings At Embassies: Liaison Officers To Tackle Terrorism, Organized Crime

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is placing law enforcement officers 
in five more Canadian missions abroad to aid in its fight against 
global organized crime and terrorism.

Liaison officers are to take full-time positions in Canadian 
embassies or high commissions in Beijing, Vienna, Madrid, The Hague 
and Kingston, Jamaica, Lawrence MacAulay, the Solicitor-General, 
confirmed.

The RCMP, however, remains tight-lipped on details of the postings, 
which significantly increase the force's international presence.

"The preference is to remain low-key on this so as to not alert the 
criminal element more than necessary to our capabilities," said 
Sergeant Paul Marsh, spokesman for the RCMP.

RCMP liaison officers are currently posted in 20 countries, although 
the force would not identify those nations, citing a concern for 
operational security.

The locations of the five new postings were chosen because of 
strategic significance, Sgt. Marsh said, although the selection 
criteria were withheld.

"Their function is to provide Canadian and foreign law enforcement 
communities with assistance, information and co-ordinating support, 
especially for investigations related to drugs, organized crime, 
proceeds of crime, commercial crime and immigration matters," he said.

In each new posting, a need for a Canadian police presence is not 
difficult to find:

- - The Beijing-based officer will be paying particular attention to 
human smuggling by crime syndicates after waves of illegal immigrants 
from China started arriving in Canada, the RCMP previously announced. 
There are also significant international fraud cases involving China 
and Canada.

- - Vienna has a long association as a global organized crime hub and 
has been dubbed the birthplace of modern transnational crime after 
the city played host to a notorious meeting in 1990 where several 
crime groups from around the world planned a strategic alliance. Its 
location has made it important to both Eastern European gangsters and 
Italian Mafiosi.

- - Madrid may have been selected because of revelations that several 
extremists from North Africa, including Ahmed Ressam, arrived in 
Canada via Spain. Ressam lived for five years in Montreal as a 
refugee before his arrest at the U.S. border en route to bomb the Los 
Angeles airport. It has also been a favourite place for fugitives and 
as a base for Spanish-speaking drug traffickers from Colombia.

- - In addition to being a major tourist destination for Canadians, 
Jamaica is known as a source country for marijuana, one of its major 
cash crops. Its location in the Caribbean also places it close to 
some of the world's major money-laundering and off-shore banking 
havens used by gangsters and terrorists to move money without 
attracting police attention.

- - The Netherlands is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs. 
In recent years there has been an increasing number of smuggling 
cases where large quantities of the popular party drug Ecstasy were 
imported to Canada from the Netherlands.

Carl Schwenger, spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs, said 
RCMP liaison officers are placed in countries only with the approval 
of the host government.

"They are liaison officers. You can't liaise unless the host 
government wants to see somebody there to liaise with. They are not 
sent in without the knowledge of the local government," he said.

"The police conduct international business daily -- almost as much as 
diplomats do, in some instances. Diplomacy is no longer the sole 
proprietary business of this department," Mr. Schwenger said.

Mr. MacAulay, who oversees the RCMP, emphasized the need for global 
co-operation in his report about the federal police tabled in 
Parliament last week.

"Despite the world's changed security environment, we look to the 
coming months with optimism and confidence and a strengthened resolve 
not to let any threat to public safety and security -- regardless of 
its nature or origin -- compromise the quality of life we are so 
privileged to enjoy in Canada," Mr. MacAulay wrote.

"We will continue to improve the capacity, co-ordination and 
collaboration of law enforcement and security agencies, both at home 
and abroad."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Josh