Pubdate: Tue, 28 Dec 2004
Source: Bonner County Daily Bee (ID)
Copyright: 2004, The Bonner County Daily Bee
Contact:  http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/
Author: Lucy Dukes, Managing Editor
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/border+patrol

INCREASED SECURITY FORCES INTERCEPTING B.C. BUD

The U.S. Border Patrol beefed up its numbers in Boundary County and
everywhere else to find terrorists. So far, no terrorists have tried
to cross the U.S.-Canadian border at Eastport or Porthill, to the
knowledge of authorities, but the increased security forces are
intercepting something else -- B.C. Bud, a potent form of marijuana
grown in British Columbia.Local officials on either side of the border
don't have statistics compiled on the seizures. They're hard to come
by when some of the suspects are caught on either side of the border
- -- and when a smuggling connection isn't immediately clear, however,
an August Time Magazine article reports U.S. seizures of B.C. Bud have
"doubled and redoubled over the past 2 1/2 years."

Officials also don't know how much trafficking exists, but say it's as
likely increased forces are catching more smugglers as it is smuggling
is increasing.

The number of security forces along the border has gone up
dramatically in the wake of the 9-11 attacks.

"It doesn't mean an increase of narcotics, just more eyes on it," said
Bonners Ferry Patrol Agent in Charge Sentha Figueroa.

"There's significant increases in both apprehensions and narcotics
seizures... the more that they put up here, the more that we'll see,"
she said.

It's not just people that security forces find, sometimes they find
drugs abandoned, or left somewhere for pickup.

"It always belongs to somebody. It's a business," she said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and authorities on the U.S. side of
the border work together to keep the border secure.

"That's been a big asset for us, is having that support on the north
side of the border," Figueroa said.

The climate and terrain are good for growing the drug, she said, and
Creston is known as a producer because of its seclusion.

Canadian authorities say part of the problem is a market for B.C. Bud
in the United States. Cocaine, firearms and cash go north while the
marijuana goes south.

To deal with the smuggling, border integrity units have smaller
segments that deal with airstrips, a marine team and land border
patrols. Officials in the United States and Canada share information
as well, said Borden

"As more police officers are out there, more gets interdicted," said
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Constable Alex Borden with the E
Division of the Border Integrity Unit.

People are going to try to get the drugs across the border to supply
the market, he said.

"Organized crime doesn't know international boundaries," Borden
added.

"There's money to be made and there's enough of a market for it that
people are going to get involved in it," he said.

And much of the smuggling is done by organized crime, he said,
although Bonners Ferry police say they've seen anyone from
18-year-olds to 80-year-old grandmothers smuggling marijuana.

Much of it merely passes through Boundary County.

"None of the big loads stop here," said Rick Alonzo of the Bonners
Ferry Police Department. The marijuana is shipped to Spokane or the
Tri Cities, and is then distributed.

That doesn't mean locals aren't involved.

"People go up there and they're buying a half pound or a pound," he
said.

Although potent marijuana can be grown anywhere in the world, British
Columbia is ideal because it has a good climate for growing and it has
historically been tolerant of marijuana and sentences have been
lenient for marijuana growing, said RCMP Drug Awareness Coordinator
Scott Rintoul.

"The organized crime groups have basically exploited a tolerant
society," he said.

A man accused of trying to smuggle marijuana across the U.S.-Canadian
border in his pants leg is scheduled to go to trial Jan. 10.

He is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to
deliver. He pleaded not guilty.

Alan Armstrong, 51, of Creston, B.C., was arrested July 20 after a
search allegedly turned up six bundles of marijuana bound for Bonners
ferry, according to court documents.

Authorities initiated a search because a customs agent reportedly
smelled marijuana emanating from Armstrong's vehicle when he attempted
to cross the border.

While Armstrong waiting in the lobby of the customs building during a
search of his vehicle, agents reportedly noticed a smell of marijuana
around Armstrong and that he was walking as if he had something in his
pants.

Armstrong reportedly told authorities he was making a fast $100 by
carrying the drugs across the border and delivering them into Bonners
Ferry, where he was to put the marijuana into a trash bag and place it
next to an apartment complex located in town.

The man accused of bringing more than a quarter million dollars worth
of marijuana over the U.S.-Canadian border is asking the court to
suppress the marijuana evidence, saying the traffic stop that netted
the bust was illegal because there was no basis for the search and
seizure.

Woody Wylie Hunter, 22, is also asking the court to suppers his
admissions while in custody, saying he was not Mirandized and had not
waived his Fifth Amendment rights.

A hearing on the motion is set for Jan. 4.

The Scottsdale, Ariz., man is charged with trafficking more than five
pounds of marijuana, which carries a mandatory sentence of three years
if Hunter is found guilty.

He was allegedly caught in August with about 25 pounds of "BC Bud"
valued at approximately $125,000 -- concealed in a hockey bag located
in the trunk of the car he was driving. It was one of the largest
marijuana busts in Bonners Ferry history.

Customs agents had contacted the Bonners Ferry Police Department,
Bonner County Sheriff's Office and the Border Patrol to be on the
lookout for the Pontiac Grand Am Hunter was driving after he
reportedly behaved suspiciously when he was stopped at Porthill Customs.

U.S. Border Patrol Agent in Charge Sentha Figueroa spotted and
followed the vehicle, stopping it on Riverside and Main streets in
Bonners Ferry.

A search of his vehicle revealed the marijuana in about 50 Ziploc
bags, each weighing about half a pound, stuffed into a
two-by-four-foot bag. Court documents say Hunter consented to the search.

Police said Hunter had obtained the marijuana in Vancouver, B.C., and
was planning on heading back to Arizona.

Following the arrest, Hunter was turned over to the BFPD and charged.
His bond was set at $100,000. Hunter pleaded not guilty and was
released from custody on Aug. 17. He now resides in Coeur d'Alene,
according to court documents.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin