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SCUBA DIVER ACCUSED OF SMUGGLING MARIJUANA INTO U.S.  NEAR MARINE CITY

A Canadian man in a scuba suit was taken into custody by federal authorities early Monday morning for attempting to smuggle eight pounds of marijuana into the United States across the St.  Clair River near Marine City, officials said.

The incident occurred about 1 a.m.  when U.S.  Border Patrol agents assigned to the Marysville Border Patrol station were notified by the St.  Clair County Central Dispatch about a tip they received from a resident notifying of an individual swimming across the river.

"We picked up his image on our camera and could see he was carrying something," said U.S.  Customs and Border Protection spokesman Kris Grogan.

Grogan said agents contacted the operators of the Remote Video Surveillance System camera at the Operational Integration Center at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.  The camera operator was able to locate the individual in the river who appeared to be pulling behind him a "dry bag" used by divers.

Border Patrol agents apprehended the suspect wearing a scuba suit after he got out of the water.  Agents then located a large, watertight PVC cylinder holding more than eight pounds of marijuana tied to a seawall ladder.

The suspect was turned over to the St.  Clair County Drug Task Force.

Grogan said this was the first time in his career that he has heard of someone using scuba gear to smuggle drugs into the country.

"It's not something you see every day, but there's always something going on around here, that's for sure," he said.