Marijuana Bankrolling Other Crimes

[SirBlazinBowl]

B.C.'s marijuana industry has become so lucrative that organized crime groups are using its profits to bankroll a variety of other crimes, according to an internal RCMP report obtained by The Vancouver Sun. "Information has surfaced . . . which clearly demonstrates that marijuana-grow operations are funding other serious forms of criminal activities," the report states. "The inter-provincial and international marijuana trade . . . has allowed several organized crime groups to expand into other criminal enterprises that may have previously been well beyond their grasp." Those crimes include weapons and explosives trafficking, cocaine smuggling and stock-market fraud, the report states. "Marijuana grow-ops have become their money machine," Insp. Paul Nadeau, head of the Greater Vancouver Drug Section, said in an interview.

The RCMP report states that the pot trade has become so large that some gangs now "solely perform money-laundering activities" and have no role in growing, smuggling or selling the drug. The 2004 report, obtained by The Sun through the Access to Information Act, was produced by the RCMP's B.C. criminal analysis section. The report refers to a threat assessment conducted by the RCMP last year that identified 81 active gangs in B.C. "All of the 81 . . . are involved, to a greater or lesser extent, in the marijuana economy," it states. The report details how different groups have grown to dominate certain sectors of the trade. Vietnamese gangs, for example, largely grow the drug. "Vietnamese marijuana growers improved on previously established methods of producing a marijuana crop, using innovation and new technology," the report states. "They applied a higher work ethic, which has resulted in increasing the profitability of growing marijuana." Indo-Canadian gang members are primarily involved in smuggling marijuana into the United States, often in cargo trucks. And members of the Hells Angels, the report says, help run the show overseeing networks of growers and coordinating smuggling runs to the States.

"Hells Angels assert a very strong and stable presence in the grow-operation industry," it states. "Every Hells Angels chapter has members, prospects and associates involved in the marijuana economy." While many groups are involved in pot, the report says they often work together. "Ethnic barriers have broken down and a high level of cooperation exists between organized crime groups," it states. "The quest for profit is the single most important motivation and differing cultures, languages and heritage do not prevent any of the groups from doing business with each other." But those relationships sometimes break down, leading to violent turf wars. "Over the last several years there has been a tremendous increase in the violence associated to money owed for failed drug transactions, drug debts, and inter-gang rivalry as it relates to the marijuana industry," it states. The report refers to one homicide investigation involving Indo-Canadian gangs in which "investigators were able to intervene and prevent several contract killings." No further details are provided on the investigation. The report says the value of B.C.'s marijuana trade is "modestly" estimated at $7.5 billion annually roughly six per cent of gross domestic product and that B.C. bud is shipped as far away as London, England.

Newshawk: SirBlazinBowl - 420Times.com
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Vancouver Sun
Contact: sunletters@png.canwest.com
Website:Canada.Com
Author: Chad Skelton, Vancouver Sun

 

[420]

uh...maybe try making marijuana legal which will eliminate the opportunity?

 

[NoDirtWeed4Me]

Yeah stop putting people in jail for it and start taxing them for it. Dumb ass government spending so much money, fighting so hard against something that could bring in alot of these tax dollars that they keep on saying they need. Making it an illegal act to grow, smoke, sell marijuana gives the people that wish to do so no choice but to go through illegal chanels, increasing the breadth of their crimes and add in the amount of cash to be made from any illegal substance and of course you are going to get corporati....I mean organized crime. Sorry for the rant this shit just annoys me.

 

[J842P]

uh...maybe try making marijuana legal which will eliminate the opportunity?

Haha! I was just about to say it!
Legalize it....

 

[Rollguy]

Man year after year it is the same story, when has not illegal drugs created riches to the gangs and turf wars and other crimes. I mean a person caught selling cocaine will only get 1 year in jail or less, and when he comes out he has no money, no food and no home so they go right back to the illegal world cause the money can be very good as you see some of these high profile busts live in mansions. The problems is they deal with all drugs rather than just cananbis, there are meth labs popping up in a day and they can create a million dollars in sales quicker than you would know. The RCMP just repeat themselves over and over again and try to say it is getting worse when in fact is always the same. The jails cant fit every drug seller in jail and with the amount of money one can make off this drug world it is no wonder they never stop. The police think taking down one person is good but then another takes his place. It is hard to imagine this will every stop cause every year it is the same bust the same record high of product recovered. Also we are not the only province with this problem, drugs are grown everywhere not just in Canada. Stop focusing on BC as the only place in the world for these problems, I am sure the States have way more problem in this matter than us. Is this article about cananabis or is it about drugs. I could right stat after stat on each country and each province on their drug worlds and they are all the same. Cocaine, Herion, Meth, are all smuggled into this country with ease, and are not as buckly weed and worth more than weed. I wish the Media and Police stop reporting false information on this pound for pound crap, all they do is lie to you about this industry. They have one intention and that is to fool you the public into thinking it is worse than it is. The RCMP reports on this topic are not to be believed as they are the story every year.