Pubdate: Wed, 20 Dec 2006
Source: Daily News, The (CN NS)
Copyright: 2006 The Daily News
Contact:  http://www.hfxnews.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/179
Author: Stephane Massinon

ORGANIZED CRIME AFFECTS EVERYONE

Organized crime in Nova Scotia affects your everyday life, says a new 
Criminal Intelligence Service Nova Scotia report issued yesterday..

"It affects your health and safety, your annual income and your 
taxes. It also affects your electricity bill, your car and home 
insurance and your credit card payment," reads the agency's annual report.

Organized crime is mainly urban and centred in metro, but it also 
spreads out to rural areas. And there are connections beyond Nova 
Scotia's and Canada's borders.

In all, it touches areas as varied as drugs, street gangs, sexual 
exploitation of kids, guns, illegal tobacco sales, motor vehicle 
crimes, counterfeiting, bike gangs, financial crimes and human trafficking.

The report speaks generally about all those areas.

The drug trade is called the main criminal activity of the province, 
with the drug of choice being pot. Cocaine is "prevalent in Nova 
Scotia" while ecstasy and prescription drugs less so. The report says 
there are no known crystal meth labs in the province.

Successful police work has reduced the number of outlaw motorcycle 
gangs in Atlantic Canada. However, the report notes there is one 
full-patch Hells Angels member in Nova Scotia, and that other members 
have visited the drug traffickers in the province.

There are also more weapons being smuggled across the border in 
Atlantic Canada than in years past.

The most common financial crimes in the province that police deal 
with are counterfeiting money, bank-card skimming, phishing and identity theft.

The report says there is no intelligence of organized crime 
involvement in child pornography, child prostitution, child-sex 
tourism or trafficking of kids for sexual purposes.

Finally, though some may see it as a victimless crime, the report 
says selling tobacco illegally helps fund other criminal activities.

"The nature of organized crime has changed," writes Justice Minister 
Murray Scott in the report.

"Criminals have become more sophisticated, and crime is more 
technologically advanced.

"To combat this, Nova Scotia's law-enforcement community is working 
together in a concerted effort to identify and attack organized and 
serious crime in our communities across the province," writes Scott.

The report stresses the importance of public co-operation in fighting 
organized crime.

"Police use criminal intelligence much like puzzle pieces. They put 
the pieces together to create a bigger picture. The puzzle pieces can 
come from anywhere, and anyone can contribute to the bigger picture."

IN A NUTSHELL

Excerpts from a new report on local organized crime:

* "As an international port city, Halifax is also a key location for 
the smuggling of illegal immigrants into Canada."

* "Police expect the future opening of a Hells Angels club in the 
province, but details of when where, chapter affiliations and 
membership are unclear."

* "The two main sources of illicit firearms in Canada are local 
thefts and smuggling across the American border."

* "Stolen vehicles that are not recovered are often stolen by 
organized crime groups for export overseas, inter-provincial resale 
or to be stripped for parts. Halifax is second only to Montreal with 
the lowest recovery rates in Canada."

* "Investigators have identified more than 10 groups or individuals 
throughout Nova Scotia who are actively involved in the smuggling and 
sale of contraband tobacco."

* "Street gangs are also a threat in Nova Scotia, with 10 reported 
gangs operating at varying levels in the province."

- -- The 2006 Criminal Intelligence Service Nova Scotia Annual Report
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MAP posted-by: Elaine