Canada’s new strike force to tackle cross-border drug smuggling and organized crime “has already started rolling out,” a senior RCMP officer said Monday.
And Chief Supt. Mathieu Bertrand said progress is being made at the border with more seizures of a variety of illicit drugs over the past two months.
Bertrand, the director of serious and organized crime and border integrity, said the RCMP has met with its American counterparts, as well as other Canadian law enforcement agencies, about the strike force — announced recently by the federal government in response to U.S. concerns over fentanyl smuggling.
“We’ve had two meetings with law enforcement from the United States. We have agreed to work at this together. There’s been significant intelligence work done to be able to inform the strike force teams and be able to have them prioritize their initial efforts to joint targeting opportunities between the U.S. and Canada,” Bertrand said.
He said he couldn’t comment on the exact number of Mounties or other personnel proposed for the strike force, but that it will have teams in major centres across Canada.
“Obviously, that is where we believe we can have the greatest impact … recognizing where criminals are fuelling the overdose crisis by producing and trafficking fentanyl and synthetics,” he said. “Those teams will be stood up immediately … by taking existing resources and having them dedicated to the strike force initiative.”
While some of the work will be done along the border, it is important to look at the bigger picture in terms of the production of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs, as well as the precursor chemicals being brought in from other countries, he said.
“We know CBSA will be a primary partner in the strike force. We will have RCMP border integrity officers as part of the strike force. But again, a lot of these teams are going to be built by utilizing drug investigators from the RCMP and other partners based on their experience and expertise,” Bertrand said.
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized both Canada and Mexico for allowing fentanyl to be smuggled into the U.S., but American border agents seized less than 20 kilograms of fentanyl from Canada in the 2024 fiscal year, while intercepting almost 10 tonnes from Mexico.
Bertrand said the fentanyl and synthetic drug problem is North America-wide regardless of the amounts smuggled into or out of Canada.
“That’s why initiatives such as the strike force make sense. I can tell you that at the working level within law enforcement, any North American crime issue — whether it be the movement of drugs, precursors, people, assets, laundering money — are seen as North American issues,” he said. “These transnational organized crime figures operate in Canada (and) they operate in the United States.”
Law enforcement has also traditionally co-operated across borders to deal with criminal organizations, he said.
“That is the only way to tackle these groups. I’m not talking about a Canadian law enforcement representative. You would hear the same from a United States law enforcement representative. We have to continue working together to deter these groups from operating in North America.”
While the focus has been on fentanyl, criminal organizations produce, smuggle and sell anything they can to make a profit.
“The major ones are going to be multi-commodity, poly-commodity focused,” Bertrand said. “I believe it allows them to adjust and pivot to our law enforcement priorities, our law enforcement tactics. But mostly for them, it’s about making money.”
Last week, Trump adviser Peter Navarro claimed on Fox News that Canada had been “taken over” by Mexican drug cartels.
Bertrand said that while there have been some cartel members based in Canada, “Intelligence does not suggest that cartels are taking over Canada.”
“We do know that some Canadian criminals interact with drug-trafficking organizations, not necessarily only cartels, but drug-trafficking organizations from other countries,” he said.
He said he couldn’t provide a number for cartel operators in the country, suggesting that would impede continuing investigations.
“What I can say is that there are other organized crime groups that are larger in Canada and that require as much attention as the cartels,” he said.
Postmedia has previously reported on the cartel connections to gangs such as the Hells Angels, the Wolfpack and the United Nations.
Bertrand said that Canada’s recent decision to list Mexican cartels as terrorist entities will aid police in going after homegrown gangs that have those connections.
“It gives us the ability with the banks to freeze their assets. It gives us an opportunity to consider charges on terrorism financing,” he said.