CUSTOMS OFFICER ARRESTED FOR SMUGGLING

A 37-year-old customs officer from South Surrey allegedly flashed his badge
at his U.S. counterparts as he tried to smuggle 227 pounds of pot across the
border Tuesday.

Altaf Merali was arrested after he drove his van with his Canada Customs
uniform hanging in a rear window up to the U.S. side of the border customs
line, according to a sworn statement filed by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection officer Michael Donley.

However, a U.S. Customs computer program that randomly selects vehicles for
secondary inspections singled out Merali's van.

After he was pulled over, the Surrey man asked Donley to speak privately
with a superior, the statement said.

Merali then confessed to supervisor Roman Morin that he was carrying a large
load of B.C. bud and claimed he had been forced to do it because an
Indo-Canadian gang had pressured him.

According to court documents, Merali also told two U.S. customs agents he'd
been recruited by a neighbour who repeatedly tried to set up smuggling trips
and that Merali kept backing out until the neighbour warned him the people
in the organization would hurt his family.

"He claimed a neighbour was involved and when he tried to back out, the
lives of his family were threatened," Assistant U.S. Attorney David Reese
Jennings told CTV News.

Merali claimed it was his first smuggling attempt.

The agents took Merali to a McDonald's restaurant near Bellis Fair Mall,
where he was supposed to deliver the pot to an American accomplice.

Washington State resident Jason Dean Smith, 20, was arrested outside the
restaurant as he tried to flee the scene in a Cadillac Escalade.

Merali and Smith made a brief appearance in U.S. District Court where they
were both ordered held in custody until a Monday bail hearing.

Outside court, A.G. Reese Jennings commented "it's just unfortunate when a
person in a position of trust like a customs officer betrays that trust."

If Merali is found guilty, he faces a minimum of five years up to a maximum
of 40 years in U.S. prison, plus a $2 million fine.

A Merali neighbour in South Surrey was shocked to hear of the arrest,
describing it as "a real blow" and calling Merali, his wife and two children
"wonderful people."

It's the second time in less than a year a customs agent has been arrested
for smuggling pot across the B.C.-Washington border.

In September, a U.S. customs officer was busted with 500 pounds of B.C. bud
and was later sentenced to five years in jail.

- - with files from CTV News