POLICE SEIZE RECORD DOPE HAUL

$5m Motherlode Uncovered At Weigh Station

RCMP in Manitoba sniffed out marijuana worth an estimated $5 million this
weekend in a semi-trailer from British Columbia.

It's the second huge bust in less than a week for police, netting them more
than 360 kilograms of Ontario-bound pot.

"The last few busts have probably opened up our eyes to what's travelling
on our highways," Falcon Beach RCMP Const. Kevin Mantie said yesterday.

On Friday afternoon about 2:40 p.m., officers at the West Hawk Lake weigh
scale stopped a truck owned by a transport company based in Abbotsford,
B.C., as part of their routine inspections of commercial regulations.

After finding one hockey bag filled with weed, investigators obtained a
search warrant and found 11 more hockey bags tucked in a crate inside the
cargo area, said Mantie.

In total, about 270 kilos of pot was seized by police.

Largest Bust

The weed, if sold by the gram on the street, would be worth an estimated $5
million, police said. The wholesale value is about $2 million, Mantie said,
adding he believes the bust to be the largest ever for his detachment.

Abbotsford resident John Peter Gauthier, 45, has been charged with
possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. He's currently
being held in the Winnipeg Remand Centre.

On Thursday, a driver from a different Abbotsford-based trucking company
was charged after officials seized 90 kilograms of weed from a rig at the
same weigh station.

Balmohan Singh Bolla, 46, of Abbotsford, B.C., is charged with possession
of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 360 kilograms -- with an
estimated total street value of $6 million -- has been carted away by
police working along the Trans-Canada Highway.

Mantie said the stretch of road near West Hawk Lake is the only east-west
route in Canada connecting the Rockies to the Maritimes -- so there's
nowhere else for drug traffickers to go.

"This is the only way to cross the country," he said.