Organized Crime Agency of British Columbia

During Rich Coleman’s term as solicitor general, the province increased its move toward more integration in policing as both a cost-saving measure by reducing duplication of efforts, and in order to solidify the agency's impact as an aggressive organized crime fighting unit. In 2004, this restructuring aligned the OCABC with its law enforcement partners into the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit – British Columbia (CFSEU-BC). It is under this agency name that organized crime projects are investigated and prosecuted. The CFSEU-BC integrated 14 law enforcement agencies, including the OCABC and the RCMP, under one single command structure with oversight provided by a chief superintendent. The intent was to integrate the OCAB, municipal police and the RCMP into one combined unit to coordinate the province’s response to the growing threat of organized crime and gang violence. ==Operations==

In 2002-2003, the agency participated in Project Blizzard with Alberta and U.S. authorities in investigating drug trafficking. This project had 689,000 pseudoephedrine tablets, 64.7 kilograms of cocaine, 3,353 pounds of marijuana, and $4 million seized. The five-month Project Longhaul in 2003 investigated distribution and transportation of marijuana, ecstasy, and ephedrine from British Columbia to Ontario and the U.S. and resulted in 3,872 pounds of marijuana, 20,000 tablets of ecstasy, and 218.2 kilograms of ephedrine being seized. Project Longhaul II specifically focused on BC bud and had 1,595 pounds of marijuana, and 461 marijuana plant clones seized. ==Notes==