MILITARY TRUCKS USED TO SMUGGLE MARIJUANA

A sergeant from the local 12th Service Battalion at Alderbridge Way and No.
4 Road was arrested Saturday night at the Pacific Highway border crossing
in connection with Blaine's biggest marijuana bust.

It's the first ever involving Canadian military personnel and vehicles.

Canadian military reservist Sten Sture Strom, 36, was arrested along with a
handful of others after American Customs officers uncovered a scheme to
smuggle more than $1 million worth of marijuana into the U.S. As a
reservist, Strom has a job outside of the military and was not involved in
the instruction of cadets, a local military official said. There are about
140 local reservists who come in to train once per week on Parade nights.

"The mood here is good," Capt. Ken Pelley said Tuesday morning. He could
not comment on the case and referred questions to officials in Ottawa.

The incident has Canadian Forces officials in Ottawa concerned the
long-standing trust relationship between Canadian military and U.S. agents
at the border may now be tainted.

"It's obviously not a good thing, and there may be some mending required on
the part of the unit" from which one of seven charged individuals hails,
National Investigative Services' Capt. Bob Lanouette said Tuesday.

"In my 19 years of experience I've never heard of something of this nature.
We're very concerned that a plan of this nature would actually be devised
by a member of the Canadian Forces."

Five Canadians and two American citizens are in custody in Seattle charged
with conspiracy to import and distribute marijuana after U.S. Customs
officials found more than 100 kilograms of B.C. bud in one of two
southbound military vehicles.

The cache is valued at up to $1.2 million U.S.

"This narcotic load is the largest that we have had in the Blaine port,"
U.S. Customs assistant special agent in charge Chuck McLeod said in a news
report Monday.

"It just illustrates that people will use a variety of methods to smuggle
narcotics."

The chain of events that saw the seven arrested was a commendable
operation.

It started, said Customs supervisor Bill Schultz, with an officer directing
drivers of the military vehicles over for an inspection after hearing 'an
unusual story' regarding the purpose of their trip.

The two, both dressed in military fatigues but only one producing proper
identification as a reservist, claimed they were headed to Ferndale,
Washington to pick up a broken-down army vehicle.

One was driving a military tow truck. The other was claiming to be the
supply vehicle to the tow truck.

In most cases, said Schultz, Canadian military vehicles cross the border to
join up with a training exercise, or as part of a convoy or manoeuvre.
Drivers always have travel orders.

"Generally, they all have orders and they have a reason to be down here,"
he said.

"They didn't have any specific travel orders, and that's why the inspector
sent them in."

Lanouette confirmed the vehicles were taken without authorization, and that
the actual purpose for crossing the border was not the reason given Customs
officers.

Upon examination with a drug-sniffing dog, five duffel bags of the
particularly potent B.C. bud were found in the smaller vehicle.

"We just routinely brought the dog over (for the inspection), as we always
do," Schultz said.

"We wouldn't normally look at military vehicles."

After arresting the two drivers, Customs and Drug Enforcement Adminstration
agents donned military gear and proceeded to drive the shipment to a
shopping mall in Blaine, where the load was scheduled to be received by a
third individual.

That Canadian citizen was arrested and taken back to the Pacific Highway
crossing after he loaded the drugs into his rented minivan.

At the port, investigators answered a call to the third individual's cell
phone. The caller, not realizing he was speaking to an agent, asked about
the delay in the marijuana's arrival in Seattle.

Playing the part, the agent said it was en route. He was then asked to
bring the drugs to the underground parking lot of a Seattle hotel. There,
agents arrested two more Canadians and two Americans.

Schultz said that while the bust is a first, the incident did not catch
inspectors off guard.

"I don't think a whole lot of us were surprised. It happens everyday, but
it doesn't happen under the same circumstances," he said.

Lanouette said it's important to note that only one Canadian Forces member
was involved, and that the unit he is based with was apparently unaware of
the drug smuggling plan. An investigation into the depth of his involvement
is ongoing.

"We're not dealing with the entire service unit. Let's not paint all of the
service battalion in question...with the same brush," Lanouette said.

"We're talking about one individual."

Charged are Canadian military reservist Sten Sture Strom, 36, and fellow
citizens Robert Ralph Laurin, 34, Wesley Dean Antholz, 41, Brent Sheldon,
Rusnak, 32, and Yoshi George Yamada, 53. Americans Roderick Arthur Brennan,
52, and Erin Nicole Harms, 26, were also charged.