Pubdate: Tue, 05 Jan 2010
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2010 The Ottawa Citizen
Contact: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Jorge Barrera, Canwest News Service

AKWESASNE BAND SUPPORTS TOUGHER U.S. DRUG RULES

Proposed Law Seeks To Crack Down On Cross Border Smuggling On Reserves

The band council of a Mohawk reserve straddling the Canada-U.S. 
border is backing a law proposed late last month by a U.S. senator, 
aimed at disrupting lucrative smuggling operations that use the 
reserve to move Canadian marijuana and ecstasy into New York State.

New York Senator Charles Schumer said he decided to draft the 
legislation after U.S. authorities last year disrupted a marijuana 
smuggling operation worth hundreds of millions of dollars that moved 
Canadian-grown contraband into the U.S. through the Akwesasne Mohawk reserve.

The Democratic senator said the proposed law, dubbed the Cross Border 
Reservation Drug Trafficking Sentencing Enhancement Act of 2009, 
would add up to 10 years to existing drug smuggling prison sentences 
if the drugs were moved across an international border through a 
native reservation.

Akwesasne is about 100 kilometres west of Montreal, and sprawls 
across the Ontario, Quebec and New York State borders.

The St. Lawrence River flows through Akwesasne territory. Contraband 
is smuggled across the border by speedboats and personal watercraft 
in the spring, summer and fall, and snowmobiles in winter.

"The geographic location of the Akwesasne and St. Regis Mohawk Indian 
Reservations along the U.S.-Canada border makes them susceptible to 
drug trafficking," said Schumer in a statement. "My legislation will 
make drug smugglers think twice before using Indian reservations to 
traffic drugs by increasing monetary fines and prison sentences for offenders."

The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, which governs the Canadian side of 
the reserve, said it supports Schumer's proposed law.

"It is a welcome measure and we hope that the harsher sentence should 
discourage anyone from utilizing our community as a conduit for 
drug-trafficking," said band council spokesman Brendan White.

The U.S. side of the reservation falls under the jurisdiction of the 
St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, which could not be reached for comment.

However, an RCMP officer with over a decade of experience in the 
Akwesasne area said he doubted Schumer's law would have much impact 
on smuggling through the territory.

"Personally, until we can manage the geographic issues with regards 
to jurisdiction, I don't think any legislation will be effective," 
said Sgt. Marc LaPorte, now stationed in London, Ont. "The ability to 
work in conjunction with U.S. authorities in that area ... is more 
efficient than stiffer penalties."

LaPorte said the so-called "shiprider" legislation, which was 
introduced by the Conservative government but died when Parliament 
was prorogued last week, would have done more to help authorities 
disrupt smuggling. The legislation would allow Canadian and U.S. law 
enforcement officials to jointly patrol waterways like the St. 
Lawrence and the Great Lakes.

The Conservative government would not comment directly on Schumer's 
proposed law.

U.S. authorities have exhibited heightened interest in the Akwesasne 
area in the past year. A U.S. Predator B drone was sent on 
surveillance flights over the region during a trial run this past 
summer and New York City's anti-drug czar recently visited the area.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom