CANADIAN ARRESTED AT BORDER WITH TONNE OF POT IN TRUCK

Detroit

U.S. customs inspectors arrested the driver of a Canadian garbage truck
yesterday after they discovered about a tonne of marijuana concealed behind
trash he was transporting.

Inspectors at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Mich., found the drugs
after a Gamma-ray scanner showed anomalies in the truck's cargo, said
Cherise Miles, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The scanner works by producing a picture, similar to an X-ray machine, of
the truck's contents for inspectors to scrutinize, she said.

The truck was then sent for a secondary inspection.

"Upon opening the rear of the garbage truck, a plastic garbage bag filled
with marijuana fell out," Miles said.

An ensuing search revealed multiple plastic and hockey bags full of
marijuana, which filled up most of the rear of the garbage truck, she said.

The driver of the truck, a 37-year-old man from India, was taken into
custody and is expected to be charged with conspiracy to smuggle marijuana,
Miles said.

The truck's manifest said it contained solid waste and was headed to a
trash dump in Michigan. The location of the dump or origin of the trash was
unknown, Miles said.

Yesterday's bust wasn't the first time drugs have been found in a garbage
truck coming from Canada. In April, three people were arrested after a load
of trash headed for a Wayne County, Mich., landfill was used to bring 23
kilograms of marijuana into the United States.

U.S. legislators who want to halt the trash shipments, which are now up to
125 truckloads a day from Canada, have been outraged to learn some of the
loads contained illegal drugs, medical waste and other hazardous material
not allowed in Michigan landfills.

"A tonne of marijuana in one truck!" Michigan State Representative Kathleen
Law exclaimed after being informed of the discovery.

"This just underscores that trash from Canada leaves us open to this kind
of illegal activity. We must pass legislation and we must regulate the
bridge. "It's just out of control," she said.

"This is scary."

Bills designed to halt or delay trash shipments have been introduced in the
U.S. Congress and the state legislature.