SMUGGLER SENTENCED: POT

Border Guard Violated Sacred Trust, Said Judge

Altaf Merali, the former Canadian customs officer who tried to smuggle
nearly 100 kilograms of marijuana into Washington state in May, was
sentenced to 18 months in jail on Friday.

The 37-year-old father of two young boys was also ordered to serve
three years of supervised release in B.C. following the jail term.

In handing Merali the sentence in U.S. District Court in Seattle,
Judge Ricardo Martinez said: "You were one of the few individuals
trusted to protect the border between our countries and you violated
that trust."

While Martinez gave Merali credit for telling U.S. agents everything
he knew when he was arrested, he said Merali must also be held to a
higher standard.

"You did violate what I consider to be one of the most sacred trusts
of all," said the judge.

Merali had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to distribute
marijuana in the U.S. in September. He was arrested May 3 by U.S.
border guards in Blaine, Wash., with 90 kg of marijuana hidden in his
van.

He told investigators at the time that he was coerced into committing
the crime because an Indo-Canadian gang had threatened to hurt his
family.