CRIME: DRUG BUST NETS 200 POUNDS OF B.C. BUD

Two boats, a pickup truck and 200 pounds of "B.C. Bud" were seized as federal
officers arrested six Canadian citizens on Orcas Island early Sept. 6.

Sheriff Bill Cumming said officers of the U.S. Customs Service backed by the
U.S. Coast Guard arrested four men and two women on suspicion of drug
trafficking that morning on the north side of Orcas Island.

The suspects are in the custody of federal authorities. Prosecution will be
handled in federal court in Seattle because of the amount of marijuana seized,
Cumming said.

The arrests follow a month-long investigation initiated after local officers
alerted federal agents to the suspects and activities that Cumming
characterized as "suspicious." The suspects were periodic visitors to the
island and made connections in the local community in relation to the alleged
drug trafficking operation. However, Cumming doesn't expect any local arrests
as a result of the federal investigation or the Sept. 6 sting.

"Our department provided the initial information about some local activity on
Orcas Island that we felt was suspicious," Cumming said. "We also had a role in
surveillance and intelligence gathering, and relayed that information to the
federal agents."

Cumming said Customs officers took the lead in conducting the investigation and
making the arrests. Federal agents retained control of the 200 pounds of
marijuana seized in the arrests. Its street value is estimated at about
$500,000. The two small boats and pickup truck remain in possession of local
authorities for now. The property will be turned over to federal agents in the
near future as the case develops, Cumming said.

Drug trafficking and marijuana smuggling rings are not uncommon in and around
the San Juan Islands. From October 1999 to August 2001, in several separate
operations, the Sheriff's Office and U.S. Customs seized nearly 650 pounds of
pot worth nearly $2 million and arrested more than a dozen Canadian boaters or
kayakers.

Two years ago, local and federal authorities seized 95 pounds of pot worth
$300,000 at a home on the north end of San Juan Island. Two Canadians were
arrested.

On July 14, federal authorities fished a 33-year-old B.C. man from the water
near Stuart Island after he reportedly set fire to his 23-foot Bayliner to
conceal an alleged drug smuggling operation. Federal agents found 15 duffel
bags aboard the damaged boat and believe the man crossed the border carrying
450 pounds of pot worth $1.3 million.