Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 Source: Globe and Mail (Canada) Copyright: 2009 The Globe and Mail Company Contact: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/feedback/?form=lettersToTheEditorForm Website: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168 Author: Robert Matas Note: MAP archives articles exactly as published, except that our editors may redact the names and addresses of accused persons who have not been convicted of a crime, if those named are not otherwise public figures or officials. BLADE RUNNER GETS THE DROP ON DRUG SMUGGLERS Eight Canadians, One American Arrested in Cross-Border Operation to Seize Helicopters Used to Ferry B.C. Marijuana to Trade for Cocaine VANCOUVER -- Nine people have been arrested in connection with an international drug ring that relied on helicopters to leap across the 49th parallel, taking B.C. marijuana to remote sites in the northwestern United States and bringing cocaine and cash back to Canada. Authorities seized two helicopters, around 300 kilograms of marijuana known as B.C. Bud, 83 kg of cocaine and 40,000 ecstasy pills during a cross-border investigation dubbed Operation Blade Runner. Police estimated the street value of the drugs at more than $14-million. At a news conference in Seattle yesterday to announce the arrests, police linked the Canadian-based marijuana and cocaine smuggling ring to the violent gangland drug wars over the past two months on the streets of Vancouver and its suburbs. However, the arrests were unlikely to stem the drug trade in B.C., U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sullivan told reporters. "We've stopped at least this group, we believe, and crippled this part of the organization. Will somebody take their place? Unfortunately, probably," Mr. Sullivan said. Despite his pessimism, Mr. Sullivan warned the drug smugglers that authorities on both sides of the border intend to go after them. "We're here [at the news conference], all of us, to ensure they know we're here. We're coming and we're going to try and get their assets, we're going to try and steal their dope, we're going to try and get their money and we are going to try and put them in prison for as long as possible," he said. Operation Blade Runner - so named for the use of helicopters in cross-border smuggling - led to the arrest of eight Canadians and one U.S. citizen. One of the Canadians, 24-year-old Samuel Lindsay-Brown of Revelstoke, B.C., hanged himself in a Spokane County jail cell four days after he was arrested. Investigators believe the drug ring has been in operation for more than a year, with shipments around once a week. The investigation began on Feb. 21, when Utah highway patrol in Salt Lake City stopped [redacted], the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle said. Law enforcement officers found 83 kg of cocaine in the car. They also discovered a link between one of the men and an ecstasy smuggling ring that had been prosecuted in Washington state last year. At the news conference, Mr. Sullivan declined to provide any additional details about the link. Based on information from the traffic stop, law enforcement officers were waiting at a remote site in the Colville National Forest outside Ione, Wash., two days later when a $1-million Bell 200 Jet Ranger helicopter landed. Mr. Lindsay-Brown was arrested as he was unloading B.C. bud from the helicopter, police said. The officers found 193 kg of marijuana aboard the aircraft. Mr. Lindsay-Brown was not on a suicide watch, jail officials told a Spokane newspaper, The Spokesman-Review. An autopsy report stated that Mr. Lindsay-Brown died from strangulation. He was alone in a cell, jammed a bed sheet into a wall light fixture and hanged himself, according to the newspaper report. The helicopter was returned to the leasing company which police believe provided the aircraft unwittingly to the drug ring. The smuggling ring attempted another shipment of marijuana six days later. A Robinson R22 helicopter flew from a landing zone outside Nelson to a remote area in northern Idaho. U.S. authorities arrested [redacted] after finding 79 kg of marijuana on the aircraft. The helicopter had been reported in B.C. to be stolen. However, the officers were skeptical and seized the chopper. In Canada, the RCMP arrested two men from Chilliwack, ages 48 and 20, who were on their way to the helicopter landing site. Police found an additional 64 kg of marijuana and 40,000 ecstasy pills. They also discovered a loaded 40-calibre handgun in the Chilliwack men's hotel rooms and a nearby storage trailer. The RCMP said they could not release the names of those arrested in Canada for privacy reasons. They also arrested a 37-year-old man in Malakwa, B.C., and a 35-year-old man in Salmon Arm who had three handguns, a shotgun and a rifle at his home, police said. RCMP Staff Sergeant Dave Goddard declined to release any of their names until charges are formally laid. The RCMP arrested [redacted], as part of the drug ring. His name was released because he was on parole at the time for an unrelated matter and his name was already in the public domain, Staff Sgt. Goddard told reporters. U.S. authorities said they hope the Canadians who are charged as a result of Operation Blade Runner will be extradited to stand trial in the U.S. Staff Sgt. Goddard said he anticipated people will be prosecuted on both sides of the border. In a highly co-ordinated effort that stretched across the international boundary, 10 different agencies in Canada and the U.S. worked together on the investigation, including the RCMP, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. [sidebar] OPERATION BLADE RUNNER WHAT WAS TAKEN, WHO WAS CAUGHT The helicopters The Bell 200 Jet Ranger helicopter was returned to a company that police say unwittingly leased it to the Malakwa man. The Robinson R22 has been seized by American officials, who consider it now "forfeited." The drugs American officials suspect two other men, arrested over the past year for drug offences, may be involved. Including those cases, a total of 240,000 ecstasy pills, 155 kilograms of cocaine and 336 kilograms of marijuana have been seized. The suspects After the suicide of Mr. Lindsey-Brown, seven Canadians and one American remain tied to the investigation. Three of the arrested Canadian men - the 20-year-old arrested in Crawford Bay, the Malakwa man who reported his helicopter stolen and the Salmon Arm man - have been released, until any charges may be filed. The RCMP say more charges are expected. The 48-year-old man arrested in Crawford Bay is set to be extradited to the United States on other unrelated drug charges, police say. The Canadian men arrested in Utah and Idaho are still in American custody, as is [redacted], the American. Mr. [redacted] is still in Canadian custody, accused of breaching his parole on a previous conviction. [sidebar] CROSS-BORDER CRACKDOWN Operation Blade Runner was a joint effort between U.S. and Canadian police, started up this past December, targeting what officials say was a marijuana-for-cocaine smuggling operation between B.C. and the northwestern United States. So far, two helicopters and hundreds of pounds of drugs have been seized and nine men have been arrested. FEB. 21, 2009 1. Utah highway patrol officers pull over [redacted] near Salt Lake City. Police say the men were arrested with 83 kilograms of cocaine. They're still in custody. Feb. 23, 2009 2. Samuel Lindsey-Brown, a 24-year-old man from Revelstoke, B.C., is arrested in Colville National Forest, near Ione, Wash. He'd landed in a Bell 200 Jet Ranger helicopter and was trying to offload 193 kilograms of B.C. marijuana, police said. The helicopter had earlier been reported stolen to the RCMP by a man from Malakwa, a town nestled in the B.C. Shuswaps. Feb. 27, 2009 3. Mr. Lindsey-Brown commits suicide in the Spokane County Jail, reportedly hanging himself with his bed sheet from the light fixture, according to local media. He had not been on a suicide watch. MARCH 5, 2009 U.S. officials, acting on "intelligence information," intercept a Robinson R22 helicopter landing in North Idaho, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. [redacted], is arrested and found with 79 kilograms of marijuana, police say. 4. American authorities get in touch with the RCMP, who go to Crawford Bay, the site where the chopper first took off, and arrest a 48-year-old man and a 20-year-old man, both of Chilliwack. The men were on their way back to meet the helicopter, police allege, and were found with 64 kilograms of marijuana and 40,000 ecstasy tablets. 5. The RCMP begin to piece together the operation, and arrest the 37-year-old man in Malakwa who'd reported the Bell helicopter stolen. Police allege his helicopter was used by Mr. Lindsey-Brown the month earlier. Also arrested that day is [redacted], a Chilliwack man said to have been involved; a second 35-year-old Salmon Arm man is arrested in Kamloops. MARCH 6, 2009 7. The RCMP carry out search warrants on hotel rooms and a storage trailer in use by the two men, seizing one gun. YESTERDAY Police announce the bust of the ring. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake