Pubdate: Thu, 08 Mar 2001
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 The Vancouver Sun
Contact:  200 Granville Street, Ste.#1, Vancouver BC V6C 3N3
Fax: (604) 605-2323
Website: http://www.vancouversun.com/
Author: Patricia Bailey

WHY IS B.C. IMPORTING POT?

Customs Is Mystified About The Reasons Low-grade Pot Would Find Its Way To 
The Home Of B.C. Bud

Canada Customs announced Wednesday it seized more than 1,700 kilograms of 
low-grade South American marijuana from a Vancouver-bound container ship in 
January, sparking speculation as to why so much cannabis would be smuggled 
to the home of B.C. bud.

Customs officers found the marijuana at the Vancouver port aboard a cargo 
vessel that originated in Peru. A total of 864 two-kilogram bricks of 
marijuana were hidden inside one shipping container of ground alfalfa from 
Ecuador.

One month after it was discovered, police arrested 10 men in a sting 
operation at a Fraser Valley farm.

"We don't know why they were bringing it here. Maybe they were going to cut 
it with other product," RCMP Corporal Grant Learned said Wednesday at a 
press conference.

The cannabis has only one-third the potency of B.C. hydroponic marijuana, 
Learned said.

"Our intelligence tells us that sometimes lower grade marijuana is mixed 
with higher grade and marketed as high grade," he said. "The crooks are 
ripping off the crooks because they are selling other stuff at the price of 
B.C. Bud."

The drugs were probably destined for the United States or Eastern Canada 
because it would be difficult to sell grade C marihuana to B.C. users, 
Learned added.

Four men -- three from the Greater Vancouver area -- have been charged with 
possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking: Timothy Andrew 
Murray, 52, of Surrey, Quoc Ai Mai, 27, of Richmond, Clayton Murray 
Mitchell, 30, of Surrey and Robert James Shannon, 31, of no fixed address. 
Shannon is also charged with two counts of possession of a loaded 
restricted firearm without a permit.

Police allege the smuggling operation is part of an organized crime ring 
and that one of the men charged is associated with an outlaw biker gang.

Customs officials targeted the vessel's container as "high risk," and 
subsequently examined the 250 sacks of ground alfalfa with ex-ray machines. 
The ship, Lykes Osprey, stopped in Mexico, San Francisco and Seattle before 
stopping in Vancouver.

After customs officials found the drugs, they turned them over to police 
investigators from the Waterfront Organized Crime Unit, which is comprised 
of law enforcement officers from Canada Customs, the Vancouver police 
department, the Delta police department, the Organized Crime Agency of 
B.C., and the RCMP.

The containers were subsequently re-packed and re-sealed and placed under 
surveillance. On Feb. 19, investigators watched as the containers were 
taken to a farm on Deroche Landing Road in the Hatzic area of the Fraser 
Valley. The next morning, six men were arrested on the road as they drove 
away from the farm. One man was arrested on the side of the road near the 
farm and another man was arrested on the farm. Two men were also arrested 
in a Surrey restaurant.

The drugs had been transferred to a rented cube van. Two loaded handguns 
and radio equipment were also seized.

Six of the men originally arrested were released. The owner of the farm was 
not charged.
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