Woman Arrested at Toronto Airport Had 10,000 Diamonds Hidden in Body

THE GLOBE AND MAIL ^ | February 21, 2013 | by Tu Thanh Ha

[Cindy]

SNIPPET: "The arrest of a woman accused of hiding more than 10,000 diamonds inside her body when she landed at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport comes amid warnings that Canada is one of the countries where illicit diamonds have been used for money laundering."

SNIPPET: "The woman had landed at Pearson on a Feb. 3 flight from Trinidad and Tobago, when she came to the attention of a Canada Border Services Agency officer, according to CBSA spokeswoman Vanessa Barrasa.

The RCMP said the woman was found to have carried 10,202 stones inside her.

The 1,500 carats (about 300 grams) of rough diamonds have an estimated value of $398,000, the RCMP said.

Helena Freida Bodner, a 66-year-old foreign national, was charged with four customs offences and two counts under the Export and Import of Rough Diamonds Act."

SNIPPET: "Trinidad is not a diamond-mining country. The nearest sources of the precious stones would be Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana."

SNIPPET: "A similar scheme is outlined in a report released last month by the Financial Action Task Force, a Paris-based intergovernmental body that sets standards and promotes anti-laundering reforms.

The report identified Canada as one of countries that have seen major criminal cases where diamonds were used as a currency in the narcotics trade, money laundering and terrorism financing."

[from occupied ga]

It is called Tariffs.

I know what it's called. I'm questioning the validity of the concept, not the history of it.

[from occupied ga]

There are protections provided to the citizens of the US by monitoring what crosses our boarders

LOL Yes of course keeping the steady stream of illegals and drugs out has kept the welfare rolls down and won the "war on drugs.". Oh wait, they DON'T keep the illegals out. And they haven't been able to stop the flow of drugs. So the rest of it is down to revenue collection.

[nuconvert]

“why should the government have the right to tax your wealth just because you cross a border?

You can be a kazillionaire and enter & exit the country with no ‘tax on your wealth’

Question: How do you propose stopping people from money laundering.....or should that not be against the law?

[Drango]

Constitution of the United States:

Section. 8.

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

[from occupied ga]

"To be governed is to be watched over, inspected, spied on, directed, legislated at, regulated, docketed, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, assessed, weighed, censored, ordered about, by men who have neither the right, nor the knowledge, nor the virtue. ... To be governed is to be at every operation, at every transaction, noted, registered, enrolled, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished. It is, under the pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be placed under contribution, trained, ransomed, exploited, monopolized, extorted, squeezed, mystified, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, despised, harassed, tracked, abused, clubbed, disarmed, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and, to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, outraged, dishonoured. That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality. "

Proudhone

Apparently most of you see nothing wrong with this.

[IMR 4350]

Then companies should be allowed to bring in their own labor from other countries, after all the govt has set a false “minimum wage” for people in this country when people from other countries are willing to work much cheaper.

[from occupied ga]

We’re talking Canada here, not the USA

[from occupied ga]

Did you read Bastiat? I'll give you the link since you seem to think that protectionism (which is simply another form of wealth transfer) is somehow a good thing. Tell me do you think the progressive income tax and welfare payments are good too? What about unions jacking up wages and increasing costs? Or do you draw the line somewhere?

Bastiat

[IMR 4350]

So Canada shouldn’t be allowed to but the USA should be allowed.

Why should the USA be allowed to levy tariffs but Canada shouldn’t?

[okie01]

The security reason is pretty much BS when talking about diamonds therefore we're down to taxes. So you think just because someone crosses a border their wealth should be up for grabs by the government?

Security applies to the diamonds, as well. You're bringing a stash of diamonds into the country to do...what?

There's no claim of innocent purpose to be made.

In any event, understand that your argument has no legal standing...anywhere.

[from occupied ga]

money laundering.....or should that not be against the law?

Money laundering is a relatively new concept introduced by government which does not want to see any wealth or commercial activity that is under its immediate control and is not taxed.

I hadn't realized how many people on a so-called conservative forum are in favor of wealth redistribution and taxation. Interesting.

I had realized that there was a core of rude jackasses that like to insult anyone they disagree with, but fortunately most of you with the glaring exception of "Cindy" have been polite in discussing this.

[DocRock]

LINK

Diamonds are used to finance terror but the Hollywood elite love diamonds on Oscar night so you won't see this in the media. The next time you say something expensive "cost an arm and a leg", think about these people.

[from occupied ga]

So Canada shouldn’t be allowed to but the USA should be allowed.

You were the one quoting the constitution of the USA at me in regard to what happened in Canada

[IMR 4350]

Someone else quoted the Constitution not me, but it makes no difference.

Your response is what I was responding to.

How would/should the govt fund the military to protect it’s citizens if not through taxes?

[from occupied ga]

You're bringing a stash of diamonds into the country to do...what?

To sell them for money? For the same reason that you have a bank account?

There's no claim of innocent purpose to be made.

So you think that people should be assumed guilty until proven innocent?

[okie01]

So you think that people should be assumed guilty until proven innocent?

If they're trying to sneak something past customs, damn right.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I guess everybody goes through a body scan machine and a bunch of rock would stick out like a sore thumb ..

---

The scanners don’t penetrate the skin.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Diamonds have strong x-ray fluorescence so I would guess one of those “harmless” backscatter x-ray body scanners lit up like a Christmas tree.

---

Those types are no longer in use. The fluorescence is in visible light, and would neither penetrate flesh, nor do the machines detect visible light.

[KC Burke]

Chavez/Cuban money running to a safe haven.

[from occupied ga]

How would/should the govt fund the military to protect it’s citizens if not through taxes?

How would the usa fund welfare if not through taxes? While we're on the subject the military is 17.7% of the budget, and welfare is 25%. I noticed that when the income tax was amended into the constitution (under a lie that it would never go as high as 10%) oddly enough excise taxes were not removed. So you can talk constitution all you want, but the reality is that all too many taxes go to fund wealth transfer which is not constitutional.

And, while you're talking constitutionality, you can't claim the constitutionality of the taxation process and still accept the blatant UNCONSTITUTIONALITY of the wealth transfer of the welafe state. In short you can't have it both ways.