There is beefed-up aerial security along the Manitoba-U.S. border.
Regular Black Hawk helicopter flights targeting illegal activity started patrolling the area around the 49th parallel on Sunday, according to a Monday afternoon news release from Manitoba RCMP.
The chopper will be searching for individuals who illegally enter Canada between official ports of entry, and for the human smugglers who facilitate their travel. It will also be used to detect and stop illegal smuggling and trafficking of contraband such as illicit drugs into — and out of — Canada, police said.
The helicopter will have police officers on-board who can quickly respond to any location near the border where illegal activity may be taking place, according to RCMP. Additionally, the helicopter can help direct border enforcement officers, who patrol the Manitoba border in vehicles, to any suspicious activity.
Assistant Commissioner Lisa Moreland, the RCMP’s regional commander of federal policing in the Northwest region, said in Monday’s release that the addition of the Black Hawk will greatly increase detection and response capabilities, while strengthening border security.
She said the RCMP will continue to add new technologies and resources across the region as required.
Residents along the border may hear and see the helicopter on a regular basis, which are part of normal police operations and there is no cause for any public safety concern, the release said.
Aerial surveillance is part of the federal government’s $1.3-billion upgrade to border security and monitoring in response
to Trump’s threat.
The federal plan also includes extra police and border guards, drones and drug-sniffing dogs.
The arrival of the chopper came one day before Donald Trump returned to the White House as president of the United States on Monday. Trump has threatened tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods unless both countries crack down on illegal migration and drug smuggling.
