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Cross-Border Cooperation

Cross-Border Cooperation

While the laws they enforce and the methods they use might differ, law enforcement agencies on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border have the same goal: To catch the bad guys.

That shared goal is a big reason why Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) have developed a great working relationship since ALERT was founded in 2006. Through the DEA’s office in Vancouver, the two agencies have worked together on a number of files with successful outcomes.

The most recent of those files was Project Coyote, which wrapped up in November 2019 and set multiple records for ALERT. In total, almost $20 million worth of drugs and assets were seized, including 250,000 fentanyl pills — believed to be the largest fentanyl seizure in Canadian history — 98 kilograms of cocaine, five kilograms of methamphetamine, 13 firearms and $1.3 million in cash proceeds of crime.

“I wasn’t expecting how easy the relationship would be,” said Det. Laird Linklater with ALERT’s Calgary organized crime team, who was the primary investigator on Project Coyote. “The DEA in Vancouver was willing to help out in any which way they could. From information requests to surveillance, they bent over backwards to help out.”

Meanwhile, the DEA says it’s very satisfying to see the results of a cooperative effort like Project Coyote, and that kind of success only encourages further cooperation.

“The relationship between DEA and ALERT as successful and growing,” said a DEA spokesperson in an emailed statement. “The collaboration between DEA and ALERT on Project Coyote is a great example of how our two agencies can be successful when working together.”

The seizure of 250,000 fentanyl pills from a Calgary apartment in February 2018 kicked Project Coyote into high gear, and more than 30 search warrants were executed over the next 20 months. But when targets start booking travel into the United States, Linklater knew he had to call in some help.

“We needed to figure what the nature of those trips were, so that’s when we started reaching out to the DEA asking for surveillance resources to determine what the target was up to,” he said.

Through a contact with the DEA’s Vancouver office, Linklater was able to make requests for information and assistance that were fulfilled quickly and efficiently. This came in extremely handy when ALERT got information that a Calgary woman was travelling to Houston, Texas, to pick up an 81-kilogram shipment of cocaine and bring it back to Canada. She was intercepted and arrested by ALERT, the DEA and the Harris County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office.

“I believe we have a good working relationship, and hopefully we’ll be able to build on it and target the people who are bringing drugs into the country,” Linklater said.

That relationship has been built not only on the back of Project Coyote, but other collaborative efforts over the years. The DEA also assisted ALERT with Project Arbour in 2017 and 2018, which involved the seizure of 100 kilograms of methamphetamine near Provo, Utah, and with the dismantling of a cocaine trafficking network in Alberta following the 2012 seizure of 45 kilograms of cocaine in Nevada that were bound for Calgary.

ALERT assisted the DEA in investigating and extraditing two men from Lethbridge to Colorado in 2015, where they were wanted on drug charges.
While organized crime has never respected borders, the spokesperson added that, in recent years, technology has thrown up new hurdles in law enforcement’s efforts to dismantle international criminal organizations.

“The use of cryptocurrency and encrypted cellphone apps have presented challenges in investigating those international organized crime groups,” he said. “The emergence of this new technology makes the working relationships between DEA and its foreign counterparts all the more important.”

Linklater said that, in his time working at ALERT, he and his colleagues have become more aware of and gained more experience with international cases, making it more feasible to leverage international partnerships and see those cases through to a conclusion.

“As ALERT matures and we gain more experience, we’re able to go after higher targets who are in control and orchestrating the transporting of shipments or the importation of drugs and money,” he said.

Since 2022, CISA has been guided by four pillars that focus the effort to promote an integrated, intelligence-led approach to combating organized crime; these are:

  • Building Relationships with Stakeholders;
  • Promote Intel Sharing Across the Province;
  • Being Proactive and Identify Emerging Trends; and
  • Investing in Our People Through Training and Development

 

Criminal Intelligence Service Alberta (CISA) has recently developed an Alberta Firearms Intelligence Centre (AFIC) to equitably expand access to firearms intelligence for all law enforcement agencies within Alberta. AFIC will provide timely, accurate, and actionable intelligence to law enforcement agencies and policy-makers to achieve the shared and collaborative goals of increasing public safety concerning firearm-related crimes.

Protecting Kids Online | Internet Child Exploitation

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

FILE INTAKES

680

872

1,149

1,114

3,815

2,994

2,764

SUSPECTS CHARGED

22

16

34

37

109

81

125

CHARGES LAID

87

45

123

160

415

351

413

CHILDREN RESCUED

26

78

56

43

203

46

100

EXHIBITS SEIZED

335

368

545

476

1,724

1,243

1,845

TOTAL PHOTOS/VIDEOS

262,400

511,133

1,374,310

606,254

2,754,097

2,551,921

13,260,819

Stopping Human Trafficking | HUMAN TRAFFICKING & COUNTER EXPLOITATION

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

SUSPECTS CHARGED

13

10

7

4

34

30

76

CHARGES LAID

79

46

87

19

231

96

157

VICTIM INTERVENTIONS

30

29

17

37

113

28

22

Intelligence & Expertise | CISA / Training

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

INTELLIGENCE REPORTS

409

296

327

442

1,474

1,560

1,318

TRAINING COURSES

5

3

8

11

27

36

25

CANDIDATES TRAINED

321

56

135

350

862

933

638

Disrupt & Dismantle Organized Crime | Combined Special Forces Enforcement

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

SUSPECTS CHARGED

40

27

42

32

141

197

168

CHARGES LAID

176

156

237

231

800

1,088

820

FIREARMS SEIZED

105

53

26

48

232

102

126

EST. VALUE OF DRUGS SEIZED

$906,814

$553,851

$2,725,161

$1,148,337

$5,334,163

$10,898,269

$334,093,020

PROCEEDS OF CRIME SEIZED

$218,133

$52,970

$130,996

$230,195

$632,294

$1,432,847

$21,740,617

ANNUAL Regional ResultS

ARRESTS

CHARGES

FIREARMS

DRUGS

PROCEEDS

CALGARY

24

110

14

$937,422

$65,881

EDMONTON

17

131

45

$592,839

$272,446

FORT MCMURRAY

8

78

4

$352,942

$144,301

GRANDE PRAIRIE

7

17

13

$192,145

$31,855

LETHBRIDGE

7

29

44

$349,773

$51,245

LLOYDMINSTER

24

93

41

$164,134

$12,504

MEDICINE HAT

37

179

13

$293,108

$7,861

RED DEER

17

163

58

$2,451,800

$46,201

TOTALS

141

800

232

$5,334,163

$632,294

Organized Property Crimes | Auto Crimes

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

SUSPECTS CHARGED

1

1

2

1

10

CHARGES LAID

11

47

STOLEN VEHICLES

23

15

1

6

45

245

118

RECOVERED ASSETS

$1,432,000

$941,025

$108,000

$260,000

$2,741025

$8,420,500

$3,919,500

Firearms investigations | Firearms lab & Gang suPpression teams

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2023-24

2022-23

2021-22

FIREARMS EXAMINATIONS

349

351

243

235

1,178

EXHIBIT EXAMINATIONS

1,316

1,409

891

1,099

4,715

SERIAL NUMBER RESTORATIONS

31

34

19

24

108

IBIS SUBMISSIONS

343

421

1,334

304

2,402

GUN SEIZURES

1

14

15

SUSPECTS CHARGED

4

22

26

CHARGES LAID

41

144

185

Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) involves images and/or videos that depict the sexual abuse of minors – the majority of which involve prepubescent children. Often, CSAM involves explicit and/or extreme sexual assaults against the child victim (Cybertip.ca).

Learn more about Internet Child Exploitation and ALERT’s integrated teams combatting this issue.

Ghost Guns are illegal, privately manufactured firearms or lower receivers. These weapons are often made with 3D-printers, and undermine public safety due to their lack of licensing requirements, serialization and safety controls.

Learn more about Ghost Guns on ALERT’s dedicated Privately Manufactured Firearms info page