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. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth