Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

Dundee, Quebec - On Tuesday, April 15, 2008, a police operation conducted by the Central St. Lawrence Valley RCMP Detachment – Valleyfield Office and the Valleyfield Integrated Border Enforcement Team, with the assistance of the Sûreté du Québec, US Border Patrol and New York State Troopers, led to the arrest of four men suspected of smuggling hockey bags filled with marihuana across the border.

Earlier on April 15, 2008, a pilot with the US Customs and Border Patrol had spotted a suspicious vehicle during an air patrol.  US Border Patrol officials attended the scene and chased the suspects, who tried to escape to Canada through a wooded area.  As they were trailing them, the  American officials found on the US side of the border ten hockey bags containing a total of 320 kilograms of marihuana.  Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Sûreté du Québec joined in the search and arrested 4 men on the Canadian side of the border.  A bag containing US$70,000 was found with the assistance of a Sûreté du Québec dog master, and a vehicle was also seized in Canada.

Three of the four suspects arrested, namely 23-year-old Robert Newton Brown of Montreal, 35-year-old Sonne Hanson of Ormstown, and 47-year-old Anthony Plata of Sainte-Geneviève, have been charged with drug exportation and drug possession for the purpose of trafficking under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and with conspiracy under the Criminal Code of Canada.  The fourth person arrested is still in custody and could also face charges.

The following day, a fifth suspect who was still at large came out of the wooded area.   The Sûreté du Québec was notified by phone and, as a result, was able to stop the man in his thirties. The RCMP was called in to put the man under arrest.  He is currently detained in custody under an Immigration warrant issued for his arrest and will appear in court to face charges similar to that faced by the other four suspects.

Policing near the border has always been a priority for the RCMP. However, the many advances afforded to citizens and governments by globalization, such as open borders, worldwide travel, on-line banking services and electronic communications, are unfortunately also put to unlawful use by criminal organizations and terrorists on a scale similar to that of multinational corporations.

The unprecedented rate of change and emergence of new pressures in our society means the RCMP constantly has to define policing requirements for the 21st century and establish delivery approaches. Interoperability (joint investigations and partnerships) between law enforcement agencies in Canada and the US is now a must and a plus, and we encourage it.