EAGLE-EYED BORDER GUARD FOILS SMUGGLER

When a U.S. border agent spotted a man "scouting" among rows of
raspberries along the Canada-U.S. border on Wednesday afternoon, he
decided to bide his time.

A short time later, the agent saw a white Ford pickup with a canopy on
the back drive into the berry field from the Canadian side of the
border about five kilometres west of Sumas, Wash.

Suddenly, the driver of the pickup spotted the agent and made an
immediate U-turn.

But the pickup quickly became stuck in the muddy field, so the driver
jumped out and ran away.

Inside the abandoned truck were 11 hockey bags containing a total of
308.8 kilograms of "highly potent B.C. bud marijuana," said a press
release issued yesterday by the U.S. Border Patrol.

It said the pickup driver could not be found "despite the rapid
response of Canadian authorities and a Border Patrol
helicopter."

The marijuana -- valued at $2.4 million on the street -- was
seized.

Meanwhile, three Lower Mainland men face charges after the RCMP seized
105 kg of marijuana from a vehicle on Zero Avenue between the Peace
Arch and Pacific Highway border crossings.

The RCMP said the marijuana was seized Aug. 30 after members of its
Integrated Border Enforcement Team noticed several vehicles "being
operated in a suspicious manner in a known smuggling area."

One of the vehicles contained six large hockey bags full of B.C. bud
in the rear cargo area.

Charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking are John
Faguin, 26, and Shawn Roming, 21, both of Coquitlam, and Derren King,
33, of Vancouver.