Pubdate: Wed, 05 Feb 2003
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2003 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://www.seattletimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Diane Brooks

DRUG CHARGE LANDS BLACK BEARS IN REHAB CENTER

ARLINGTON - They helped smuggle drugs across the Canadian border, and now 
they're behind bars.

But nobody blames Corky and Pumpkin for helping conceal 166 pounds of 
marijuana in their travel trailer.

The female black bears are enjoying an indefinite stay at the Sarvey 
Wildlife Center near Arlington while federal prosecutors handle the case of 
Duane Bradley, a 23-year-old British Columbia man busted last week at the 
Blaine border crossing. He was charged Monday in U.S. District Court in 
Seattle with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

U.S. Customs agents say Bradley had smuggled drugs into the United States 
about 10 times, using lions, cougars and bears as camouflage.

He allegedly built a false floor and wall into the animal-transport 
trailer, where a drug-sniffing border dog last week found the pot - worth 
an estimated $500,000 on the street - and $180,000 in U.S. cash, according 
to court papers.

Additional arrests are expected in the case, Customs spokesman Michael 
Milne said.

Corky and Pumpkin, both 7, have moved into the bear den at Sarvey, a 
state-sanctioned rehabilitation center for large animals. Its last 
occupant, an orphaned bear cub, spent about eight months at Sarvey before 
it was released into the wild in November.

The new residents, who are quite overweight, won't be released, however.

"We are assuming they were in captivity their whole life," said Brenda 
Kolb, Sarvey's clinic director. "The owner said they were going down to 
California to do a movie."

Federal agents are trying to establish who owns the bears. They apparently 
belong to an animal dealer in Canada, and documents required for 
transporting them across the border were in order, Milne said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth