Cat-and-mouse with Canadian border smugglers

MASSENA, N.Y. (AP) — As drug-related violence has exploded, the southern border between the U.S. and Mexico has grabbed the most headlines over the years. But a government report earlier this month gave a new picture of the unpatrolled border up north.

A congressional hearing on Tuesday will examine the report’s conclusion that only 32 miles of the 4,000-mile border between Canada and northern U.S. states are adequately patrolled.

Border Patrol agents in Massena say they’re battling smugglers who cross the frozen St. Lawrence River on snowmobiles, peddling marijuana, methamphetamines and Ecstasy.

But some residents of the nearby Mohawk reservation and other border towns say the government is exaggerating the security risks. They say increased patrols are scaring away Canadian visitors.