U.S. OFFICIALS CHARGE ANOTHER 11 IN ALLEGED POT-SMUGGLING RING

SEATTLE - U.S. prosecutors said Wednesday they have charged another 11
men in an alleged major U.S.-Canadian marijuana-smuggling operation,
bringing the total to 22 and the total amount of pot seized to 1,542
kilograms.

The conspirators used hidden compartments in tractor-trailer rigs to
smuggle the marijuana and millions of dollars across the border from
British Columbia, prosecutors said. During the last 10 days,
investigators seized $3.4 million US, 181 kilograms of marijuana and a
dozen firearms.

"The cross-border smuggling of 'B.C. Bud' generates hundreds of
millions of dollars in profits for the criminal organizations
involved," said Mike McCool, deputy special agent in charge of
investigations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Seattle.

"One of the keys to dismantling these operations is to follow the
money trail because greed is what fuels this dangerous trade."