Pubdate: Mon, 28 Jan 2013 Source: Nanaimo Daily News (CN BC) Copyright: 2013 Nanaimo Daily News Contact: http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1608 Author: Ben Ingram NANAIMO SERVES AS HUB FOR ISLAND DRUG TRAFFIC: EXPERT RCMP Arrested Man Earlier This Month With Suspected Links To Red Scorpions The special enforcement unit that deals with organized crime across the province says the city of Nanaimo has emerged as a hub or thoroughfare for drug traffic serving Vancouver Island. The Nanaimo RCMP displayed a seizure of drugs and cash valued at over $180,000 on Jan. 16 after they arrested a man believed to be linked to the Red Scorpions gang in Nanaimo earlier this month. That find has led to a renewed call by local voices to end the "wasteful" drug war. The haul, a result of a raid conducted on the suspect's residence, included a loaded .40-calibre handgun and some $120,000 worth of cocaine, in addition to heroin, methamphetamine and cash. That seizure was helped along by the efforts of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C., which has an office on Vancouver Island. "The gang landscape in Nanaimo is much like in many small towns of B.C., it's fairly dynamic and fluid," said CFSEU spokesman Lindsey Houghton after conferring with operatives in the area. According to the CFSEU, much of the movement of drugs like cocaine and marijuana on Vancouver Island begins in Nanaimo, a central location with access along highway corridors that stretch to Campbell River in the North, Victoria in the South, and Port Alberni and Tofino to the West. The CFSEU has made note of Nanaimo's more permanent criminal elements that spend time in the Lower Mainland, at known hangouts for organized crime. At the same time, Nanaimo represents a chance for Lower Mainland gangsters to line their pockets. "A lot of the people associated with the gang landscape in Nanaimo come to the Lower Mainland for the glitz and the glamour - to be seen," said Houghton. "What we see going the other way are people going over (to Nanaimo) to make money because there's still money to make." Vancouver Island University criminologist took to the web after he read about the recent Red Scorpions bust to declare the seizure would do nothing to stop illegal drugs from entering Nanaimo. Anderson is a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, an international group of criminal justice professionals who speak out against the illegal status of drugs. The VIU professor is a former prison guard. "There's a huge demand for cannabis in British Columbia and other drugs as well," said Anderson. "Violence in the market and the risk to the public (it brings) is because of the contraband nature of the product." He pointed to tobacco as an example of how people can be taught through education to avoid harmful substances, without the creation of a black market that funnels cash to criminals. Nanaimo teachers skeptical of proposed bargaining changes Anderson said he has watched as Nanaimo shows violence more typical to large centres like Vancouver as a result of competition between gangs, vying for market share. An event highlighted by police to have a major impact in the market for drugs in Nanaimo occurred in November, 2007 when the Civil Forfeiture Act was used to seize a Hell's Angels clubhouse in Nanaimo. The CFSEU said that police efforts to target the Hell's Angels led to a push from gangs like the Red Scorpions to "assert their dominance and control over the gang landscape in and around central Vancouver Island." That kind of competition, Anderson stressed, is bad news for public safety. An anonymous source within the Nanaimo Hell's Angels maintained the clubhouse was seized under false pretenses. He vowed the group would continue its effort to have the property returned, but that a series of delays have stalled efforts. The Hell's Angels say that the drug war targets them unjustly because of their recognizable image. "There's a lot of wasted money going into drug enforcement. That seems redundant," he said. "Marijuana, it's less harmful than alcohol." The federal government says the solution rests in heavier penalties for drug-related crimes. Nanaimo-Alberni member of Parliament James Lunney could not be reached for comment, but touched on the subject when he supported the Penalties for Organized Drug Crime Act in 2010. "It's time to steer the tide of this illegal and anti-social activity," Lunney stressed. "The aim of this bill is to crack down on drug pushers and dealers who threaten the safety of our children and our neighbourhoods." - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D