U.S. senator wants Mexico-like Canada border

[Harvey Specter]

Congress should force the White House to create an anti-drug-smuggling strategy for the northern border, similar to one in place for the southern border, Senator Charles Schumer says.

The New York Democrat cited U.S. Justice Department statistics Wednesday showing large increases in cocaine, heroin and marijuana seizures along the U.S.-Canadian border since 1997.

Most of the club drug ecstasy enters the United States over the Canada-U.S. border, he said.

"Even in the face of increased drug smuggling, the administration lacks a comprehensive strategy to fight this scourge," said Schumer, who said he will seek support for a bill from colleagues in other border states.

Growing seizures of club drug ecstasy

While cocaine, heroin and marijuana seizures are dwarfed by those at the Mexican border, the reverse is true for ecstasy. Since 2005, agents have seized eight times the club drug at the Canada-U.S. border than at the Mexican border, taking 303 kilograms from smugglers in 2009, 616 kilograms in 2008 and 240 kilograms in 2007.

In a Feb. 19 western New York seizure, agents using X-ray technology at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge found 21 kilograms of ecstasy — 77,856 tablets worth $1.5 million US — in a car's rear quarter panels. The pills were wrapped in cellophane, dryer sheets and electrical tape. A 53-year-old Canadian man was arrested.

Schumer's legislation would mandate the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to devise and implement a comprehensive counter-narcotics plan for the 6,437-kilometre Canada-U.S. border. New York Representative Bill Owens is expected to sponsor a similar bill in the House.

The National Drug Control Policy office said in a statement it had not seen the proposed legislation but was interested in learning more about it.

Schumer also opposed the Obama administration's plan for a 12 per cent funding cut for a federal crime-fighting initiative that has allowed counties with the highest drug activity to beef up staff and productivity.

[StylinRed]

read that title as they want the mexican border like the canadian one


i was like "is he fkin crazy?!"

[raygunpk]

you mean loco

[TheKingdom2000]

Originally Posted by raygunpk

you mean loco

i lol'd

[raygunpk]

you mean reír a carcajadas

[Vansterdam]

wow imagine what that would be like

[Tapioca]

I think the border works fine the way it is. On another drug smuggling note, a Canadian paralympian has been charged with trafficking counterfeit Viagra and Cialis:

Gold-medal Paralympic curler charged with trafficking in fake Viagra

The skip of Canada's gold-medal curling team at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympics has been arrested and charged in the United States with trafficking in counterfeit Viagra and Cialis.

Jim Armstrong, a six-time Brier competitor and retired dentist who lives in Richmond, was arrested in Blaine, Wash. on April 15.

The arrest came after Federal Food and Drug Agency and Postal Inspection officials alleged they watched him pick up a box of nearly 3,000 pills mailed from a manufacturer in China.

He was charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods and released after waiving his extradition rights and posting a $20,000 bond. A conviction could mean up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to $2 million.

In a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Western Washington, FDA Special Agent Jim Burkhardt said authorities were tipped off to the shipment when it arrived at a clearing house in Los Angeles on April 7.

When customs agents opened the box, they found 2,544 tablets of a drug labelled as Viagra, and another 260 tablets labelled Cialis.

Burkhardt said although the pills bore trademarks of the drug makers, Pfizer and Lilly, they were suspected to be counterfeit because they had been shipped from China, which is known for the production of counterfeit drugs.

"Viagra and Cialis are also some of the most common drugs targeted by counterfeiters," he said. "Many, if not most, counterfeited drugs are made in the People's Republic of China."

Burkhardt said he confirmed with both Pfizer and Lilly that the Chinese pills were fakes and that they were also packaged with fake product lot numbers.

The agents let the package, which was addressed to Armstrong's wife Carleen, continue on its journey to a commercial mailbox company in Blaine, and when Jim Armstrong came and picked it up, they arrested him on the spot.

Burkhardt said a review of the mailbox company's records showed "a very large number of parcels or boxes arriving at this postal mailbox from various foreign countries, including China and India."

Carleen Armstrong died of cancer last September.

Jim Armstrong did not return phone calls.

Armstrong was a formidable able-bodied curler in his youth, going to the Briers six times. But bad knees and a car accident in 2003 left him unable to play. He was eventually convinced by a friend to take up wheelchair curling, and last month captained Canada's team to a gold medal at the Paralympics.

Armstrong's next appearance in court is April 30.

jefflee@vancouversun.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

[Phat_R]

smoke and mirrors -- just another talking head that is trying to take the spotlight off of the horrible economy problem the US enduring right now

Blame Canada!

[josh t-1]

the costs of demarcating the border between Canada and the US like the Mexican one would be insane (billions), i highly doubt that the US could afford it with their economy right now.

[slammer111]

Good luck trying to implement it. They're having a ton of trouble enforcing the border with Mexico and that one is like 1/4 the length of the Canadian one.. more like 1/6 if you add in Alaska. Then you have to worry about weird anomalies like the Northwest Angle and buildings that are split down the middle..

[josh t-1]

^ there's a pub in Ontario where the border runs right through it, they have a line painted on the floor and after 1am everyone has to be on the Canadian side of the line to keep drinking lol

[skyxx]

^ HAHAHHAHAHAHA You serious? I'm gonna visit it.