Pubdate: Wed, 25 Jul 2012
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2012 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Lee Berthiaume

1,712 CANADIANS CURRENTLY IN OVERSEAS JAILS

More than 70% are held in United States

OTTAWA * From drug smuggling in Peru to attempted fraud in China to
murder in the United States, federal statistics show more than 1,700
Canadians are languishing in foreign prisons and detentions centres
around the world.

More than 70% of Canadians held abroad as of July 9 were in the United
States, though Canada was also represented in more than 50 other
countries' jails, prisons and detention centres.

At the same time, more than a quarter of those detained abroad were
facing or doing time for drug-related charges.

Gar Pardy, former head of consular services at Foreign Affairs, said
the vast majority of the cases would relate to drug smuggling,
particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean. Such was the case for
three Canadian women arrested in the Dominican Republic in February on
allegations they were being used as "mules" to carry cocaine to Canada.

In fact, Canadians appear to be a major presence in jails throughout
the hemisphere.

"There's hardly a place down there where you don't find a bunch of
Canadians," Mr. Pardy said. "There are also a fair number of Canadians
involved in the higher levels in drug trafficking."

While Mr. Pardy was not surprised that 1,209 of the 1,712 Canadians
held abroad were in the U.S., the 82 Canadians being detained in China
is a marked increase over previous years.

Mr. Pardy attributed this to the fact commercial relations between the
two countries are at an all-time high.

"Initially, if you had a dozen in China, that would be it," he said.
"Now more Canadians are going there. And I think what you're finding
is a lot more Chinese Canadians going there and setting up
businesses."

And while drug charges were the most common ones facing Canadians in
many prisons around the world, fraud appears to be the main issue for
Canadians in China.

"It's very easy to get charged with fraud in China," Mr. Pardy said.
"A lot of them go and set up businesses and work with some local
people. Then there are disagreements and the local people go to the
police and the Canadians get detained until it gets worked out."

While the U.S. and China ranked first and second in terms of the
number of Canadians detained, the federal figures show Australia
coming in third with 46 followed by Japan with 27.

Rounding out the top 10 were the United Kingdom with 24 detained
Canadians, 20 in Peru, 16 in Jamaica, and 13 each in the Dominican
Republic, Spain and Costa Rica.

For privacy reasons, the Foreign Affairs Department refused to
identify specific countries in which there are one or two Canadians
detained. As a result, there were 46 jailed Canadians whose locations
were not disclosed.

Of the total 1,712 detained, 637 were charged with drug related
offences, 198 with murder and 161 with fraud.
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