FEDS BUST POT RING ON RESERVATION

Federal authorities charged 34 people, including five north country
residents, over their alleged roles in an international marijuana
smuggling operation that moved about 22,000 pounds of pot through the
St. Regis Mohawk Reservation.

A three-year investigation exposed a pipeline bringing millions of
dollars' worth of marijuana into U.S. and distributed it to several
cities, the U.S. Attorney's office said Tuesday. The ring leader of
the operation was Cornwall, Ontario, resident Mickey Woods, who goes
by the nicknames "Big Boss Man" and "Big Buddy."

"This investigation shines a spotlight on the enormous profits reaped
by drug dealers from the cultivation, smuggling and sale of
marijuana," said John P. Gilbride, the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration special agent in charge. "From northern New York to as
far south as Atlanta, Georgia, this trafficking organization
distributed Canadian marijuana, generating approximately $45 million
of narco-dollars along the way."

Mark Smoke, 37, and Aonwentsiio "Doggie" Sunday, 30, of Hogansburg,
James Moran, 44, of Massena, and Winthrop residents Mitchell Printup,
31, and David Hartley, 46, were indicted Tuesday on charges of
conspiracies to distribute and possess more than 1,000 kilograms of
marijuana. If convicted, each person could face 10- to 40-year prison
terms and up to $4 million in fines.

Authorities seized about 400 kilograms of marijuana and over $2
million in cash during the investigation. More arrests are expected.