Move along, nothing going on here (en francais)

For all those that like to delude themselves in thinking that nothing is going on in Canada.

Add in people, drug and gun smuggling and Windsor is the centre of "nothing" in Canada.

"A multimillion-dollar smuggling operation based in Michigan allegedly helped fund the Hizballah terrorist organization (also known as Hezbollah), according to a federal indictment of 19 men that was announced March 29."

"The enterprise operated from Lebanon, Canada (Windsor), China, Brazil, Paraguay, and the United States, according to the indictment.

Plochinski said the indictment was handed up in April 2004 but kept secret until the March 29 raids, in hopes more members of the organization could be identified. Federal agents decided to act when Karim Hassan Nasser crossed from Canada into the United States."

"A Smuggling Hotbed

The case is not an isolated occurrence of smuggling or other illegal activities involving tobacco products in Michigan or Michigan residents.

In May 2005 four residents of Windsor, Ontario were charged in Ontario courts with smuggling and possession of 642 cases of "unstamped" tobacco products that apparently had been brought into Canada from Michigan, suggesting Michigan has become a distribution hub for cross-border smuggling.

In April 2005 Ohio law enforcement officials arrested a Jordanian-born resident of Dearborn for illicit tobacco trafficking and seized more than $1 million in tobacco products from him.

In October 2004 a truck holding 135 cases of cigarettes worth more than $27,000 was hijacked in Washtenaw County, Michigan after the thieves pistol-whipped and blindfolded the truck's driver."

I'm sure all the accused are simply misunderstood. They're all just upstanding citizens who donate to charity on a regular basis.

The people and tobacco smuggling busts are becoming so commonplace in this area that many are beginning to ignore the stories as just another story on just another day.