Pubdate: Sat, 15 Sep 2007
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2007 Calgary Herald
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Sherri Zickefoose, Calgary Herald
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

COCAINE SUITCASE SEIZED AT AIRPORT

Man Accused of Flying Around Globe With Drug

Through at least three airports and over 12,000 kilometres from Sudan,
Qatar and Frankfurt, Germany, a Calgary man is accused of travelling
freely with thousands of dollars worth of cocaine smuggled inside a
false bottom of his luggage.

But under the steely gaze of a Calgary customs officer, the
25-year-old suspect cracked under pressure, stumbling on his travel
story, says the agency.

A man was flagged for a secondary inspection at Calgary International
Airport on Wednesday at 5:15 p.m.

There, customs officials found a false bottom on his black suitcase.
Hidden under cardboard were three kilograms of cocaine packaged into
bricks and sealed with packing tape.

Police say there is little doubt the $75,000 worth of cocaine was
destined to be sold on Calgary's streets.

The bust is credited to a customs officer's old-fashioned penetrating
questions, rather than costly electronic gadgets and state-of-the-art
airport security.

"The officer followed up with an additional line of questions and
noted a number of inconsistencies," said Dave Ellison, a Calgary
superintendent for the Canada Border Services Agency.

"We're processing large volumes of travellers through the airport
every single day," said Ellison. "It was excellent work and very good
questioning on the part of the officers." In a post-9/11 world with
stringent travel restrictions and heightened awareness, how the man
passed undetected through at least three other airports with the drugs
raises questions about security in foreign airports.

"Not every country has our requirements for checking each piece of
luggage and screening them," said Lucie Vignola, a Transport Canada
spokeswoman.

"We all assess the level of risk and identify what flights pose a risk
more than others." "There are some basic international standards in
security everyone is required to set. We have done a lot of work in
Canada to put in new systems." Airports in Canada, the United States
and most of the United Kingdom screen departing and arriving
passengers. But not all airports have the dual system in place.

The man arrived on a flight from Frankfurt while en route from Sudan
and Qatar, according to Canada Border Services Agency officials.

"This is the largest seizure that we've had in recent years," said
Lisa White, spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency.

RCMP arrested the man, charging him with importing cocaine and
trafficking. He is known to police, said RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb.

The maximum penalty for both charges is life imprisonment.

The phoney suitcase is not an uncommon method of concealing drugs,
according to Webb.

"This was not one of the more sophisticated ones. But this amount
coming through a flight is a very large amount. To get bigger amounts,
you basically have to be into land shipments or to conceal it in
containers. This is about the maximum amount you expect to carry."
Police aren't sure what country the drugs came from.

"Most people start in one place -- you check the bag there and it goes
through, but you don't get access to it. So the expectation to take
the bag out and put something in it in Frankfurt would be surprising."
The seizure underscores cash-rich Calgary's continuing market for the
addictive white powder, he said.

"This amount of cocaine showing up in this manner coming to Calgary as
a destination shows that it is becoming increasingly easier to get,"
said Webb.

Police wouldn't say how long the man had been abroad
for.

Since January 2005, there have been 999 narcotic drug seizures valued
at $2.4 million in Alberta airports.

About $550,000 worth of drugs from 237 seizures were made at the
Calgary International Airport since then.

The amount of cocaine the man was carrying could be expected to
produce approximately 30,000 lines, which is a single dose of the
drug. It is worth $75,000 on the street, police say.

"Cocaine is a rich man's drug. It's more expensive. Until we get an
analysis of the quality of it, we don't know how pure it is. It could
translate into a substantial amount," said Webb.

No drug dogs were on duty that night.

Idris Yousif, 25, of Calgary, is charged with importation of cocaine
possession for the purpose of trafficking.

In 2002, RCMP drug investigators in Calgary and Vancouver hooked up
with Interpol to determine the origin of 120 kilograms of ecstasy
powder intercepted by customs officials at Calgary International Airport.

In what is still believed to be the largest shipment of ecstasy ever
seized in Canada, $52.5 million of the drug -- which could have
produced more than 1.5 million pills -- was found inside three pianos
aboard a scheduled flight bound for Calgary from Frankfurt.

Customs officers intercepted 120 one-kilogram bags of the white powder
Oct. 16, 2002, while inspecting cargo from an Air Canada flight direct
from Frankfurt.

The drugs -- which were sealed in freezer bags, masked with purple and
black carbon paper and then covered with plastic wrap -- were stacked
in the back of three high-end German Schimmel pianos.

Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands produce and export the majority
of synthetic drugs that arrive in Canada.

In September 2000, a record $12-million cocaine bust at Calgary
International Airport unearthed cocaine bricks wrapped in plastic and
smeared with grease and cold cream. Customs officials found the
behaviour of three Mexican nationals unusual, leading them to examine
their three bags. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake