Pubdate: Fri, 24 Jun 2005
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2005, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://torontosun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Tom Godfrey, Toronto Sun

WIRETAPS UNDID GANG

An Estimated 400 Pearson Workers Corrupt

THE UNDERCOVER cops couldn't get up close and personal with drug 
smugglers who were moving kilos of dope through Pearson every week.

The bad guys didn't trust anyone new and physical surveillance was 
difficult on runways and planes.

The police turned to the telephone. A wiretap team led by RCMP Acting 
Cpl. Lea Kyle ended up intercepting some 25,000 phone calls from 
Toronto and Jamaica during the January to November, 2000, probe.

It took teams of interpreters to transcribe heavy Jamaican patois 
into English that filled up six large binders.

The white Canadian ringleader, Jeffrey "Clean Face" Cahill, of 
Brampton, had assembled a mostly Jamaican gang to bring in drugs from 
the island.

The 11-month probe to crack the Cahill crew was one of the largest 
drug cases ever launched at Pearson airport, said RCMP Acting 
Staff-Sgt. John MacLeod.

The investigation began after a rash of drug seizures by Canada 
Customs officers from secret compartments of Air Canada flights from Jamaica.

"We began to monitor return flights from certain countries," MacLeod 
said last week. "It was a sophisticated group whose members used a 
lot of code."

To tackle the smugglers, an elite team was created from officers of 
the Toronto Airport Drug Enforcement Unit (TADEU) that included the 
Mounties, Canada Customs, OPP and Toronto and Peel forces.

Cracking the Cahill crew was just part of an ongoing war on crime at 
the airport.

"There is no question [smuggling rings] are still operating," MacLeod 
said from the force's airport detachment.

"People who work at the airport are very sought after by smugglers," he said.

"This is not only happening on Air Canada flights ... drugs are being 
planted on other planes as well. It goes on non-stop."

Police are concerned that the drugs at high altitude can freeze and 
tamper with an aircraft's wiring and hydraulics in flight.

"If they can plant drugs on a flight, they can also hide a bomb or 
weapons," he said. "This is a big concern and I don't think the bad 
guys even care."

Retired RCMP Staff Sgt. Bill Matheson, who spearheaded the Pearson 
project with now-retired Toronto policeman Neal Armstrong, said some 
smuggling rings at the airport steal goods, while others may be 
involved in laundering money or smuggling people.

"The groups are loosely knit," Matheson said. "We keep checking the 
names and it's the same people working all the time when the drugs arrive."

Police estimate there are about 400 corrupt workers at the airport, 
which employs about 70,000 people. On a good day some 80,000 
passengers pass through the terminals.

"Airport workers are valuable to the criminal ring," Matheson said. 
"The guys at Pearson are golden and the most important link in the 
organization."

Police said bags of dope have also been removed from international 
flights and placed on a Pearson carousel for domestic trips so 
couriers could pick up drug bags without passing through customs, 
which does not check domestic flights.

"People that work on the ramp have easy access in that they can go on 
planes and anywhere with their passes," Matheson said. "They can go 
anywhere unchallenged."

Armstrong, who is now a security investigator for Air Canada, said 
smugglers lure airport staff with big money.

"There are organizations behind the scenes that manipulate employees 
with dollars to import drugs," said the former 20-year Toronto 
detective. "I can't tolerate drug importers anywhere, let alone in 
the airline industry."

Much of the smuggling can be curbed by re-programming the airport's 
employee pass system, MacLeod said.

The passes should be modified to allow workers access only to areas 
required for their job, he said, keeping them out of secure areas of 
the airport when they're off duty since most dope is removed on days off.

"This will have some impact," MacLeod said. "As it is now, these 
people have 24/7 access and can walk around unchallenged."

He said drug cops have begun collecting DNA and fingerprint samples 
from plane seizures, which are compared against those stored in 
national databases.

Police also want an airport Crime Stoppers program in which workers 
can anonymously call in tips and receive a commission based on the 
amount of drugs seized.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth