The province and the western Mexican state of Baja California will move toward sharing information on criminal activities such as human and weapon trafficking and Internet crimes against children, B.C.’s attorney general said yesterday.
The two jurisdictions signed a statement of intent that would see them work together to prevent criminal activities and collaborate on cases of offenders fleeing B.C. or Mexico.
“They’ve had just an incredible wave of violence in Mexico,” said Wally Oppal. “Nine-thousand have been killed last year as a result of the drug war, including the murder of judges and prosecutors, lawyers, witnesses and police. It’s been horrible.”
Mexico has signed similar statements with Texas, California, Arizona, Washington and Colorado.
“There’s a clear linkage between the crime that takes place here and the crime that take place down there. For instance we know that the cocaine that comes here, comes from Mexico,” Oppal said.
Rommel Moreno Manjarrez, the attorney general for Baja California, said in a press release that the statement of intent is an important step in confronting organized crime that operates beyond traditional boundaries.
The two jurisdictions will also discuss opportunities for sharing information about best practices, training and administrative procedures.
