Pubdate: Wed, 03 Dec 2003
Source: Canadian Press (Canada Wire)
Copyright: 2003 The Canadian Press (CP)
Author: Sue Bailey

CDN, U.S. SMUGGLER HUNTERS JOIN FORCES

Akwesasne Mohawk Territory (CP) -- The chase is on as twin
150-horsepower engines split the late-night stillness in smugglers
paradise.

An RCMP zodiac takes off down the St. Lawrence River near Cornwall,
Ont. Reaching 80 kilometres an hour, it skips over a frigid surface
that glitters like cut glass.

Two Mounties and a local police officer race without running lights to
catch a boat as it speeds into the darkness.

"Over there," shouts RCMP Sgt. Gilles Tougas above the roar. He points
north toward a swath of the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory.

At this hour, anyone on the water is suspected as a potential smuggler
of marijuana, contraband cigarettes or, more troubling in the
post-Sept. 11 era, illegal migrants.

The police boat hisses to a stop near where the Ontario, Quebec and
New York state borders intersect through Akwesasne. The name is Mohawk
for "land where the partridge drums," a reference to how the male
birds beat their wings in mating season.

In total, the territory sprawls over 10,000 hectares on land, water
and scenic islands. It straddles the Canada-U.S. border which, on
maps, cuts the St. Lawrence in half. A network of international
bridges, roads and waterways strings the islands and mainland together.

It's a jurisdictional quagmire of woods and riverside terrain ideal
for smuggling of all kinds -- including people. A small portion of the
native community has forged ties with organized crime in recent
decades, helping to ferry cargo through their land for cash.

Using night vision goggles and a device that detects heat, police
watch the shoreline.

Their suspect, likely in a boat much faster than they can match, has
disappeared into the night. But it won't be long before the next chase
begins.

It's business as usual for these members of the International Border
Enforcement Unit. The team, formed after the terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, regularly seizes illicit goods as they chip away at a
monumental smuggling industry.

The cross-border effort includes RCMP, native and local police, Canada
and U.S. customs, the U.S. Homeland Security Office and the Coast
Guard. Members patrol the unwieldy stretch of border in boats,
vehicles and helicopters. They cover about 100 kilometres from just
east of Kingston to the Vermont border.

In the distance, staccato cracks are heard over barking dogs.

"That sounded like gunfire," says RCMP Const. Daniel Laberge.

It's approaching midnight, it's -6 Celsius with the wind chill, and
he's wearing a survival suit for warmth over a bullet-proof vest. The
seven-metre, open zodiac offers little protection.

His boss, Sgt. Tougas, says fleeing smugglers have fired his way
several times, with at least one close call. Their weapon of choice:
AK-47 assault rifles.

"There's nothing like hearing gun shots," says Tougas, a married
father of two. "It's after, when you get home, that it settles in."

The smuggler hunters see action almost every night.

"Human cargo is a top priority" since 9-11, Tougas says. "Although we
don't have any intelligence that leads us to believe that this area
has been used by terrorists, it is still a concern."

About 150 people were nabbed trying to sneak over the border at
Akwesasne last year -- mostly from Canada to the U.S., Tougas said.
That's down from up to 900 a year before border security was tightened
after 2001.

No one knows how many people sneak in undetected, but U.S. border
officers in Mexico have estimated they only catch one in 10.

Smugglers deal in illicit goods ranging from drugs to exotic fruits.
(One enterprising crook was once caught with a boat loaded with cases
of Chinese lychee. He was apparently trying to skirt U.S. import
restrictions meant to limit fruit-fly infestations linked to the
popular fruit.)

Marijuana and cigarettes keep officers busy.

High-quality pot grown in hydroponic labs, dubbed "Quebec gold," is
also lucrative draw in the U.S.

The border team has seized 932 kilograms with a Canadian street value
of up to $6.6 million this year, up from 600 kilograms last year.

More than 920 cases of cigarettes (46,150 cartons) have been snared,
worth $1 million or $22 per carton in evaded federal tax.

That's up from 617 cases -- almost 31,000 cartons -- caught last year.
Those convicted face fines of double or triple the eluded excise tax
- -- a mere cost of doing business, say critics.

The border team is braced to get busier as Ontario moves to raise
cigarette taxes, hiking the appeal of cut-rate native smokes made in
the U.S. and smuggled into Canada.

Tobacco scams are unsettling for other reasons. An RCMP report
released last August suggests cigarette smuggling helps to fund
terrorists in the Middle East and Europe.

Aside from more and faster boats, border officers say they need to be
able to chase suspects across the Canada-U.S. line in the St. Lawrence
River.

Police jurisdiction ends at the border, allowing smugglers to thumb
their noses as they retreat past the divide.

"That's a major, major problem," says Dick Ashlaw of the U.S. Border
Patrol. "That's what makes this area so enticing to smugglers.

"It's nirvana for them."

Ottawa and Washington are in talks about how to share jurisdiction,
but sovereignty and other complicating factors are "huge," says Ashlaw.

At least officers on both sides of the border now have compatible
radios -- a crucial tool they lacked 18 months ago.

"If we can't get you, the Americans will," says RCMP Sgt. Tougas.
"We're helping each other."

Not that everyone appreciates the enforcement efforts.

"This is a police state," says one Akwesasne resident who didn't wish
to be named. "I don't think anybody appreciates the heavy-handedness
of these forces."

It's not unusual for reserve residents on shopping trips to be
surrounded by officers, he said. Vehicles that ride low are routinely
pulled over by the "Marlboro Gang" searching for cases of cigarettes,
he said.

"The whole community is portrayed to be part of the smugglers. We're
not."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake