Get Active Subscribe Support Us

FEDS BUST POT RING ON RESERVATION

Federal authorities charged 34 people, including five north country residents, over their alleged roles in an international marijuana smuggling operation that moved about 22,000 pounds of pot through the St.  Regis Mohawk Reservation.

A three-year investigation exposed a pipeline bringing millions of dollars' worth of marijuana into U.S.  and distributed it to several cities, the U.S.  Attorney's office said Tuesday.  The ring leader of the operation was Cornwall, Ontario, resident Mickey Woods, who goes by the nicknames "Big Boss Man" and "Big Buddy."

"This investigation shines a spotlight on the enormous profits reaped by drug dealers from the cultivation, smuggling and sale of marijuana," said John P.  Gilbride, the U.S.  Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in charge.  "From northern New York to as far south as Atlanta, Georgia, this trafficking organization distributed Canadian marijuana, generating approximately $45 million of narco-dollars along the way."

Mark Smoke, 37, and Aonwentsiio "Doggie" Sunday, 30, of Hogansburg, James Moran, 44, of Massena, and Winthrop residents Mitchell Printup, 31, and David Hartley, 46, were indicted Tuesday on charges of conspiracies to distribute and possess more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana.  If convicted, each person could face 10- to 40-year prison terms and up to $4 million in fines.

Authorities seized about 400 kilograms of marijuana and over $2 million in cash during the investigation.  More arrests are expected.