INUVIK CRACK TRADE WORTH $100,000 A WEEK

INUVIK - The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides too
much protection for crack traffickers and is a shield for criminal
enterprise, according to Const. Sean Doornbos of the Inuvik RCMP detachment.

Those comments came on Thursday, a day after the April 8 crack bust
where thousands of dollars and an undisclosed quantity of crack were
seized from Mountain View Apartments.

The case is still under investigation and RCMP have identified suspects.

Doornbos estimated the crack trade in Inuvik generates $100,000 a
week and the problem is serious.

"For a community this isolated, crack is easily available," he said.

The RCMP, he added, monitor the drug problem in two main ways:
cracking down on the users themselves and through intercepting the drugs.

But in a smaller town such as Inuvik, he said, it's difficult to
crack down on users. And because it's a transient community where
goods can be smuggled in several different ways, it's extremely
difficult to intercept the drugs.

But Doornbos said the RCMP is doing the best it can, working withing
strict parameters.

"We chase these guys out of town all the time and we are constantly
disrupting their activities. It's tough. But we are getting close to them."

Section 8, the part of the charter that protects citizens from
unreasonable search or seizure, requires the RCMP to ensure it has
reasonable and probable grounds to do so.

"The process is exhaustive," he said. "It takes a great deal of time
and energy to fulfil those requirements.

"It's frustrating. I will openly admit that it is."

That can involve getting court permission for a search or a wiretap,
for example, which he said can be a painfully long and detailed process.

Police, he said, also rely on witness evidence to justify searches
but very few are willing to come forward.

Like many town residents, the police, Doornbos said, have a good idea
who the main players involved in the local drug industry are, but he
added it's a constant challenge for members to get enough evidence to
make arrests.