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We have taken an aggressive enforcement approach to fighting organized crime. These long term investigations require costly, innovative approaches. Strategic enforcement approaches that are complex, long-term and, therefore, very expensive are the norm. Since becoming operational in February, 2000 we have aggressively pursued our mandate, to disrupt and suppress organized crime. To date, the Agency’s investigators have charged 170 people and laid over 650 charges for possession of weapons, counterfeit credit cards, proceeds of crime offences, drug trafficking and cultivation. In addition, in the last year the Organized Crime Agency of British Columbia has, in partnership with other law enforcement agencies, executed approximately 120 search warrants under the authority of the Criminal Code or the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Under proceeds of crime legislation, we have frozen bank accounts containing the equivalent of $10 Million Canadian. In cooperation with Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, we also recovered approximately $1.4 Million in unpaid taxes. We have also seized over two million dollars Canadian in currency and $1.5 Million in assets, totaling close to $4.0 million in seizures of proceeds of crime. We have also seized $230,000 worth of stolen property, counterfeit credit cards with a credit value of $200 Million, a current year van and two trucks valued at approximately $30,000 to $50,000 each. In the past week, our investigators, along with officers from Washington State, seized a helicopter valued at between $600,000 and $800,000, along with a number of other assets, a large quantity of drugs, Canadian and US Currency under Proceeds of Crime legislation. We have also seized the wholesale equivalent of over $17 Million of illegal drugs, which includes $13 Million worth of marihuana, over $300,000 in cocaine, close to $15,000 or 1400 units of the drug Ecstasy, which is an extremely dangerous drug and popular among teenagers attending Raves. The remainder of the $17 Million is for a variety of drugs such as magic mushrooms and methamphetamine. A variety of weapons including handguns, rifles, tazers, a cross bow and nunchaku sticks has also been seized under federal firearms legislation. |