Canada Border Services Agency is constantly playing a game of cat and mouse with criminal organizations trying to import dangerous drugs and raw materials for fentanyl – sometimes using “creative” means, a senior border official says.
In an interview with CBC the house Aaron McCrory, deputy director of intelligence and enforcement at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), said officers are using a wide variety of “innovative tools” to smuggle drugs as part of continued coverage of the toxic drug crisis. He said he witnessed the trick.
“We’re seeing shipments hidden inside machine parts. For example, they’re dissolved in liquid and shipped as maple syrup. They’re hidden inside baking tools.” McCrory told host Katherine Cullen.
“This is a constantly evolving game, and we are always looking at new and different tactics to smuggle drugs into the country or abroad.”
14:26sniffing out drugs at the border
featured videosSmugglers are using more creative and sophisticated methods to move illegal drugs across borders, and this week The House provided a rare demonstration of how CBSA sniffer dog Loki detects drugs at the border. went. Next, we hear from Aaron McCrory, vice-president of intelligence and enforcement at Canada Border Services Agency, how drugs are hidden and why precursor chemicals (ingredients used to make drugs) Ask if it’s a problem.
An average of 21 people die every day in Canada due to the toxic drug crisis. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that has been implicated in many of these deaths.
However, a significant portion of Canada’s fentanyl, or the substances used to manufacture it, originates overseas.
In addition to 496 grams of fentanyl seized in the first half of this year, approximately 31,000 kilograms of other drugs, narcotics and chemicals were seized in the first two quarters of 2023, according to the CBSA.
Two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a lethal dose.
Canine detection teams are among the tools the CBSA uses in its efforts to stop the flow of drugs. the house At the Lansdowne border crossing in eastern Ontario.
In his conversation with Karen, Mr. McCrory reiterated: the house We heard from the RCMP earlier this month that Canadian criminal organizations are producing fentanyl for both domestic consumption and overseas sales.
Law enforcement officials say major markets for Canadian fentanyl include the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
CBSA is responsible for intercepting cargo, whether imported or exported.
“The challenge for us is that they are constantly changing,” McCrory said.
“We are always looking for new and different methods of concealment and sharing that information with people like our frontline staff and dog teams to help them successfully disrupt the transport of drugs into the country. Masu.”
Shipping more and more precursor chemicals
Trends CBSA officials are seeing in 2023 include an increase in shipments containing fentanyl’s key ingredient rather than finished drugs.
“While the amount of fentanyl coming into the country is decreasing, the amount of precursors coming into the country is increasing,” McCrory said.
According to law enforcement, most fentanyl precursor chemicals are imported into Canada either directly from China or by transshipment through the United States and South American countries.
Canada has been working with China for years to combat the influx of illicit fentanyl and other opioids. The United States recently agreed to resume independent cooperation on the issue following a meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
federal government too I recently moved To regulate some fentanyl precursors.
McCrory said the challenge with precursors is that they may have a legitimate purpose, making regulatory action difficult, or their chemical composition may change rapidly. Ta.
“It’s a constant battle to identify new precursors coming into the country and work with partners like Health Canada to list them and stop them from entering the country.”
McCrory said Canada’s ability to interdict drugs at the border is an important part of the overall fight against the toxic drug crisis, but it’s only one part.
“It’s not just about stopping drugs, it’s about harm reduction. It’s also about preventing people from starting to use these drugs in the first place,” he said.
“I have colleagues across the city, across the country, around the world who are working on this problem. For every ban, even if it’s just one dose, we save one life. We have to keep doing it, we have to keep making it.” Make a difference and turn the tide. ”
