Pubdate: Sun, 23 May 2004 Source: Ogdensburg Journal/Advance News (NY) Copyright: 2004 Johnson Newspaper Corp. Contact: http://www.ogd.com/letter.htm Website: http://www.ogd.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/689 Author: Krestia DeGeorge Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/hydroponic+marijuana POLICE NET 400 POUNDS OF POT Troopers: Man Struck Patrol Car And Fled POTSDAM - A pursuit from the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation to the River Road in Potsdam early Saturday morning ended with police taking a Western New York man into custody and seizing 400 pounds of hydroponic marijuana. State police investigators said it is the largest marijuana seizure ever in the North Country. A man from Marion, Wayne County, is in the St. Lawrence County Correctional Facility without bail and facing state and federal charges after he allegedly rammed a tribal police patrol car on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation and led police on a lengthy chase through the towns of Bombay, Brasher, Norfolk and Potsdam. He was stopped by St. Regis Mohawk Tribal police while traveling west on state Route 37, near the four corners in Hogansburg, shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday, according to state police. As tribal police patrols approached his GMC Suburban, he allegedly drove the SUV into the patrol car and then fled the scene, heading south on the North Road, said troopers. He was pursued by tribal police and a unit from the U.S. Border Patrol to Helena, where he turned on to county Route 56 towards Brasher Falls, state police reported. He eventually abandoned his vehicle in a private driveway on the River Road in Potsdam and fled on foot, he was captured after a brief foot chase. A second vehicle that had been stopped on the reservation with the SUV managed to flee, and authorities say they have not been able to locate the vehicle or its driver. When state police searched the SUV, they say they allegally discovered about 400 pounds of hydroponic marijuana. State police say the drugs have an approximate street value of $1 million. A state police investigator said the SUV was literally "filled to the gills" with 21 garbage bags containing marijuana. Investigators believe the marijuana was headed from Canada to Western New York. He was taken into custody by officers from the state police Narcotics Enforcement Unit and Massena-based U.S. Drug enforcement Administration officials, with assistance from the St. Lawrence County Drug Task Force and St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Department deputies. The drug investigation will be handled by DEA officials, who reportedly will be pursuing charges in U.S. District Court, said troopers. Federal statutes for possession of large quantities of marijuana are much harsher than the state statutes. Investigators say a so-called "mule" transporting the marijuana from a pickup point on the Canadian border to a location outside the North Country is typically paid $50 to $100 a pound for the marijuana that reaches its destination. Under those rates, a driver carrying 400 pounds could be paid up to between $20,000 and $40,000, according to a state police investigator. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin