Rum runners. Heroin connections. Ecstasy labs. All part of a long line of criminal dealings in the service of international drug trafficking that smear Canada's squeaky-clean image. As the international community began to regulate intoxicating drugs in the 20th century, drug traffickers forged global routes through Canada in a vicious and wildly lucrative case of supply and demand. CBC Digital Archives looks back at Canada's unique place in this perilous trade as a customer, conduit and producer of illegal drugs.
Big crime and big money go hand in hand, and in Hong Kong - and increasingly Vancouver - that means the Asian triads. According to triad member Steven Wong, interviewed in this groundbreaking 1990 CBC Evening News clip, half the heroin that comes into North America goes through Vancouver. From there, it finds its way to every corner of the continent at a highly profitable rate of return. Making matters worse, the triads use spectacular street-level gang violence as a highly effective smoke screen: while the public and police focus on Chinatown shootouts, triad elders quietly move about 3,000 metric tonnes of smack each year.
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