Gangs infiltrate Canada's airports
Critics say the lax security has created 'fertile ground for terrorism.'
By Susan Bourette Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
from the December 16, 2008 edition
Toronto - Organized gangs and smugglers are infiltrating Canada's biggest airports, providing a breeding ground for international terrorism, critics say, citing information from a recently revealed federal police investigation.
A two-year probe by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the country's national policing agency, shows that 58 organized gangs are smuggling drugs into the country's airports, including Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Many of the gang members are airport employees, including baggage handlers and customs agents, who have used their security clearances to thwart the law.
The findings shatter widespread notions that airport security has been significantly bolstered since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, according to some of Canada's leading national security experts. It's also angered lawmakers, who say previous warnings have gone unheeded.
"This report should certainly rattle Canadians and even those beyond our borders,'' says Sen. Colin Kenny, who was appointed to lead the Canadian senate committee on national security and defense after the 9/11 attacks. "Where you see organized crime taking place, you have a fertile ground for terrorism."
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