Pubdate: Mon, 14 Mar 2005
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2005, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://www.canoe.com/NewsStand/TorontoSun/home.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Tom Godfrey, Toronto Sun
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

POT TRADE MOVES EAST

U.S. BORDER agents say they're seizing record amounts of Canadian pot being 
transported across the border and are escalating their war against 
organized smugglers. Agents say they're taking a tougher line against 
marijuana smugglers following the slaying of four RCMP officers in Alberta, 
who were killed at a grow-op site.

U.S. officers said they weren't taking chances when they chased a Canadian 
truck driver last Thursday after he ran a port near Sumas, Wash. The man 
was charged for smuggling 142 kilos of weed, worth $1.6 million.

Moved Base

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said some smugglers have 
shifted their bases from B.C.-Washington State to Buffalo-area border 
crossings, where they claim there's less police heat.

"We have seen a shift in smuggling from the Washington area to areas in the 
east," Customs spokesman Michael Milne said.

About 4,600 kilos of weed were seized at Buffalo-area crossings last year, 
compared to 3,900 in the Washington area, where up to 7,200 kilos were 
seized in the past.
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MAP posted-by: Beth