Check this post out by Alydryr....looks like this dude says we have terrorist and hell angels and have the criminal Itelligece service after us now...................damm this would make damm good movie....this bye far makes my top ten post for the most negative post for CMKX..
Terrorists may be eyeing Canada diamonds
By MARTIN STONE
Lucrative diamond finds in northern Canada may be attracting attention from terrorist and criminal organizations seeking new ways to raise cash and launder ill-gotten gains from drugs, arms trafficking and other enterprises, according to a report by the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada, a government watchdog group.
Since the Ekati mine opened in the Northwest Territories in 1998, Canadian diamond fields have been heralded as potentially some of the most lucrative untapped diamond sources in the world. The CISC report, released last Friday, suggests Canadian diamond production may end up being mixed-in with so-called "blood diamonds" from war zones such as Angola and Sierra Leone.
"Precious stones such as diamonds have always been an attractive commodity to the criminal world," said the report. "They have been utilized by organized crime as currency to acquire contraband such as illegal drugs and weapons, to pay for services rendered and as a means to move and launder criminal profits.
"There is also concern that terrorist organizations, such as the al Qaida network, may also be using diamonds as a form of currency to avoid the international banking system and controls by governmental authorities in order to continue to finance their operations."
The CISC, a coalition of federal, provincial and municipal police agencies, admits that while there is no direct evidence to suggest such infiltration in Canada's diamond mining industry has actually taken place, "there is a potential, as observed in other countries, for organized crime to attempt the infiltration of the industry to arrange for diamonds to be illegally diverted from the legitimate commercial pipeline for their criminal exploitation and profit."
The 55-page annual report, which deals with all aspects of organized crime in Canada, also notes that Canada's reputation within the diamond industry as producers of "clean" diamonds could attract smuggled illicit diamonds which could be blended into the regular rough diamond supply and effectively become sanitized as a bona fide Canadian product for sale through legal channels.
A rich source of diamonds in Canada was discovered in 1991 near Point Lake, Northwest Territories, touching off a diamond rush that continues. The Ekati Diamond Mine started production in 1998 and two other mines are scheduled to open in the Northwest Territories by 2005. Other significant finds have been recorded in northern Ontario and Quebec. Canada is the fifth-largest producer in the $11 billion-a-year diamond industry and more to second when the planned mines open, according to Montreal Police Chief Michel Sarrazin, a member of the CISC executive.
The remoteness of mining operations in the Canadian north may provide criminal or terrorist organizations an opportunity to begin smuggling operations, a CISC spokesman said, and pointed to East European crime families, known for their expertise in smuggling jewelry and diamonds, as potential practitioners.
"Law enforcement in Canada is aware of the potential criminal exploitation of diamonds and is monitoring the developing diamond industry," the report says.
The report also found that the Mafia, established crime families with Italian roots, control major drug importation, money laundering, and gambling operations and use apparently legitimate businesses to hide criminal activity and profits.
Outlaw motorcycle gangs, including the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, are involved in drugs, money laundering, intimidation, murder, fraud, theft, extortion, prostitution and trafficking in illegal weapons, the report warned.
CISC Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli also told reporters that, "Asian crime families, East European crime families, the traditional Italian crime families and biker gangs are now working together to carry out their criminal operations. They are certainly consolidating their forces."
