Nothing new: Police say fentanyl crackdown existed before tariff threats [Video]

Canadian investigators were effectively cracking down on fentanyl trafficking and production well before U.S. President Donald Trump threatened devastating tariffs if Canada didn’t do more to stop the drug from flowing south, police officials in Western Canada said Wednesday.

“I don’t profess to underline all the words coming out of the president’s office, but certainly it’s nothing new to us that fentanyl is a priority,” said Supt. Marc Cochlin, CEO of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams, or ALERT, whose members are drawn from various law enforcement agencies across the province.

Trump agreed Monday to delay tariffs against Mexico and Canada until at least March 4.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presented him with Canada’s plan to secure the border and tackle fentanyl production and trafficking, including a pledge to list Mexican cartels as terrorist entities, send more personnel to patrol the border and hire a “fentanyl czar.”

Cochlin said the agreement is welcome, …