Cross-border bust results in drug and gun charges
Canadian, U.S. officers work aboard each other’s boats during investigation
Charges have been laid against a Vancouver Island man who is accused of smuggling more than 100 kilograms of drugs between the United States and Canada.
RCMP Chief Supt. Keith Finn said a six-month, cross-border investigation with authorities in the United States found two boats meeting on multiple occasions just south of San Juan Island, between Vancouver Island and Washington state.
“It’s a challenging environment, but I think this shows an example of the extent that we do have capabilities that help ensure and provide some comfort that our border integrity is intact,” he said at a news conference in Surrey on Wednesday.
Finn said the investigation is a significant accomplishment for the relatively new marine policing program that allows for a Canadian officer to work on a U.S. vessel and an American officer to work on a Canadian vessel in order to cross the border easily and prevent smuggling and trafficking between the two countries.
Other agencies involved were U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard and Victoria Police.
Police seized 55 kilograms of cocaine, 47 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and more than a kilogram of heroin in February 2017 after one of the boats docked in Canada, Finn said.
“These seizures represent a significant amount of illegal drugs that have been prevented from reaching our streets and harming our people and our communities,” he said.
Two high-speed boats, 15 firearms including five handguns, a prohibited large capacity magazine and over $150,000 in cash in a backpack were also seized.
Mounties say 51-year-old William Barnes of Saanich has been charged with importing cocaine, crystal meth, and heroin; possession of those drugs for the purpose of trafficking; possession of a handgun with readily accessible ammunition; possession of large capacity magazines; and smuggling under the Customs Act.
Finn said the investigation is continuing, and that with such large qualities of drugs discovered, “we are naturally inclined to believe that there’s an organized crime group that’s behind it.”
U.S. officials said Gary Horton of Washington state has pleaded guilty to trafficking-related charges in connection to the same case. He’ll be sentenced in September.
Dan Behrends, acting assistant special agent in charge for Homeland Security in Blaine said the origin of the drugs has been traced to California but the investigation is continuing.