STENCH OF MARIJUANA IN MOTEL ROOM LEADS TO SEIZURE OF GUNS AND DRUGS

WESTBROOK, Maine (AP) - A 17-year-old Canadian boy was arrested after
authorities found 32 pounds of marijuana, three machine guns and a mason
jar full of hashish and other drugs in his motel room.

``It's one of the largest drug cases made in Maine this year,'' said
Westbrook Police Chief Steven Roberts. ``It's well over $100,000 worth of
drugs . . . with a street value approaching half a million dollars.''

Police were summoned to the Super 8 Motel Tuesday after a worker reported a
strong odor of marijuana emanating from room 132. Someone had tried
unsuccessfully to control the odor by blocking the door with a towel.

When police arrived on the scene, they knocked on the window and identified
themselves. Officers arrested the boy after he climbed out a window and
began running into the parking lot. He surrendered after slipping and
falling on ice.

The teen-ager used a fake name and driver's license as he checked into the
motel Saturday, renting a room for himself and another room for a woman he
was traveling with, the chief said. But when police were called to the
motel the next day, only the man was found.

Jonathan Toof, the federal prosecutor assigned to the case, said finding
the woman ``is a loose end we'd like to tie up.''

Police found the discovery of the three machine guns - an Uzi, a
semiautomatic Mac 10 and a fully automatic Mac 10, all with silencers - to
be particularly disturbing.

``That kind of firepower would likely overwhelm 99 percent of the police
departments in the state of Maine,'' said Roberts, whose department turned
the case over to the federal Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The 17-year-old suspect, whose name was not released, was arraigned on drug
and weapons charges in federal court Tuesday, two days after his arrest.

Police don't know why the teen-ager was in Westbrook or whether the drugs
were destined for the illegal market in Maine.

``From our perspective, he could have just been a mule (transporting drugs
for someone else),'' Roberts said.