HONDURAN CHILDREN USED IN B.C. TO SELL DRUGS

Vancouver Police Suspect Scores Of Youngsters Involved

Vancouver -- Police have picked up seven Honduran children aged 10 to
15 with crack cocaine this summer, and they suspect that as many as
100 Honduran kids are being used to sell drugs on the streets of
Greater Vancouver.

Police and community members said yesterday they have seen only the
tip of the iceberg.

The police pick up the children and have them placed in a safe
environment as soon as they become aware that the children are playing
a role in the drug trade, police spokesman Anne Drennan said yesterday,

"I'm not sure how many are out there," she added. However, the police
are aware that Honduran drug dealers have stretched down Hastings
Street in East Vancouver and into the neighbouring suburbs of Burnaby
and New Westminster, she said.

The most recent incident occurred earlier this week, when two
detectives involved in another investigation in the east end of
downtown saw a group of people, including a 10-year old child, dealing
drugs.

When the officers approached, the child quickly swallowed several
rocks of crack cocaine (crystalline pieces of varying sizes) and the
adults scattered.

"The officer was so shocked," said Staff Sergeant Doug MacKay-Dunn. He
had the child taken to a hospital, allowing the adults to escape.
"These people are like pimps using children in the sex-trade
business," Staff Sgt. MacKay-Dunn added.

The child's mother, who allegedly was involved with illegal drugs, had
recently left the child with some adults before going to San
Francisco. The child could not speak English and police had to find a
Spanish translator.

The boy eventually spat up 18 rocks of cocaine, and 10 more rocks were
pumped from his stomach.

Police believe the use of Honduran children is part of a drug ring
that has recently set up in Vancouver after several Honduran drug
dealers were chased out of San Francisco and then Portland, Ore.

The children, who are mostly between 10 and 13 and too young to be
charged with drug dealing, are used as "mules" to carry the illegal
crack cocaine, while older people sell the drugs.

In addition to the seven children who were apprehended, Vancouver drug
investigators have also charged 61 Spanish-speaking adults from
Honduras and elsewhere since the beginning of this year. However, the
RCMP have not made arrests in connection with the smuggling of
children across the U.S. border.

Burnaby Councillor Doug Evans said the group initially settled in
apartments near Metrotown Shopping Centre. As many as 20 people were
living in one- and two-bedroom apartments that were crawling with
vermin, he added.

The drug ring had arranged for children and young adults to be
smuggled into Mexico, the United States and then Canada. As soon as
they enter the country, they claim refugee status and apply for
welfare, Mr. Evans said. As a member of Burnaby's community policing
committee, he said, he has been given information about the drug
operation by police.

"Some of these people were given $500 for their rent and they go
straight out to sell drugs," he added. "The government has been
financing people who are trained to peddle drugs to our citizens.

"Then they get young people hooked on crack cocaine and these people
need money for the drugs."

Marisa Adair, spokesman for the B.C. Ministry of Human Resources, said
the government has provided assistance to fewer than five children
this summer who came from outside the province.

Adults who are in the process of applying for refugee status are
eligible for welfare, she added.

Bernadette Murphy, a spokesman for the provincial Ministry for
Children and Families, said the government will provide housing, food
and clothing to any child who is known to be in difficulty.

Meanwhile, the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Safety Office said
police may be underestimating the number of Honduran children involved
in the drug trade.

Apart from those the police have picked up, the organization, in
collaboration with community groups and Spanish-speaking social
workers, has been able to take about half a dozen Honduran children
used as drug carriers off the street and place them in facilities for
children at high risk.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry