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DEA Works To Bust Drug Smugglers
By Michael P. Tremoglie, The Bulletin
While the nation’s attention has been focused on the drug wars in Mexico, little attention has been paid to a sophisticated drug smuggling operation by a group of Canadians and Americans using helicopters.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced yesterday that a coordinated effort with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had resulted in nine arrests and the seizure of 750 pounds of marijuana, over 176 pounds of cocaine, six weapons and two helicopters. The investigation was dubbed “Operation Blade Runner” because the group used helicopters to smuggle loads of drugs across the U.S-Canadian border.
“This investigation personifies the cooperation required to have a significant impact on cross-border crime and the organizations responsible for those crimes,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Arnold R. Moorin said.
On Feb. 21, a traffic stop conducted by the Utah Highway Patrol in Salt Lake City resulted in the seizure of 182 pounds of cocaine. The occupants of the vehicle were arrested. Law enforcement determined the cocaine was destined for a location in eastern Washington state where it was to be loaded onto a helicopter in exchange for a load of British Columbia “Bud” marijuana.
Law enforcement officers were waiting for the Bell 200 Jet Ranger helicopter when it touched down outside of Ione, Wash. Samuel Lindsey-Brown, 24, of Revelstoke, B.C., was arrested after he attempted to off-load 426 pounds of marijuana. On Feb. 27, Lindsey-Brown committed suicide at the Spokane County Jail.
On March 5, the same group attempted another exchange of drugs via helicopter and upon landing in northern Idaho, Jeremy Snow, 29, of Kelowna, B.C., was arrested. The helicopter contained 174 pounds of marijuana.
Due to information sharing on both sides of the border, the RCMP located the site where the helicopter took off from in British Columbia. The RCMP arrested two men, ages 48 and 20, from Chilliwack, B.C., and seized 150 pounds of marijuana and approximately 40,000 ecstasy pills. Additional search warrants were served in Nelson, Salmon Arm, and Malakwa, B.C. Officers seized six guns and arrested a 37-year-old resident of Malakwa, a 35-year-old resident of Salmon Arm and a 35-year-old man from Chilliwack, B.C.
Individual defendants have been charged in the districts where they were arrested. But the cases will likely be consolidated in the Western District of Washington where information about the smuggling ring originated and where, within the past year, two other co-conspirators have been prosecuted for the importation of 200,000 illegal pills and possession of 159 pounds of cocaine.
The intergovernmental cooperation in this case, both in the U.S. and Canada, was extensive. Several different law enforcement organizations participated in the operation. They included the DEA, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Forest Service, Utah Highway Patrol, Washington State Patrol, Spokane County Sheriff’s Department and the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Department.
Michael P. Tremoglie can be reached at mtremoglie@thebulletin.us
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced yesterday that a coordinated effort with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had resulted in nine arrests and the seizure of 750 pounds of marijuana, over 176 pounds of cocaine, six weapons and two helicopters. The investigation was dubbed “Operation Blade Runner” because the group used helicopters to smuggle loads of drugs across the U.S-Canadian border.
“This investigation personifies the cooperation required to have a significant impact on cross-border crime and the organizations responsible for those crimes,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Arnold R. Moorin said.
On Feb. 21, a traffic stop conducted by the Utah Highway Patrol in Salt Lake City resulted in the seizure of 182 pounds of cocaine. The occupants of the vehicle were arrested. Law enforcement determined the cocaine was destined for a location in eastern Washington state where it was to be loaded onto a helicopter in exchange for a load of British Columbia “Bud” marijuana.
Law enforcement officers were waiting for the Bell 200 Jet Ranger helicopter when it touched down outside of Ione, Wash. Samuel Lindsey-Brown, 24, of Revelstoke, B.C., was arrested after he attempted to off-load 426 pounds of marijuana. On Feb. 27, Lindsey-Brown committed suicide at the Spokane County Jail.
On March 5, the same group attempted another exchange of drugs via helicopter and upon landing in northern Idaho, Jeremy Snow, 29, of Kelowna, B.C., was arrested. The helicopter contained 174 pounds of marijuana.
Due to information sharing on both sides of the border, the RCMP located the site where the helicopter took off from in British Columbia. The RCMP arrested two men, ages 48 and 20, from Chilliwack, B.C., and seized 150 pounds of marijuana and approximately 40,000 ecstasy pills. Additional search warrants were served in Nelson, Salmon Arm, and Malakwa, B.C. Officers seized six guns and arrested a 37-year-old resident of Malakwa, a 35-year-old resident of Salmon Arm and a 35-year-old man from Chilliwack, B.C.
Individual defendants have been charged in the districts where they were arrested. But the cases will likely be consolidated in the Western District of Washington where information about the smuggling ring originated and where, within the past year, two other co-conspirators have been prosecuted for the importation of 200,000 illegal pills and possession of 159 pounds of cocaine.
The intergovernmental cooperation in this case, both in the U.S. and Canada, was extensive. Several different law enforcement organizations participated in the operation. They included the DEA, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Forest Service, Utah Highway Patrol, Washington State Patrol, Spokane County Sheriff’s Department and the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Department.
Michael P. Tremoglie can be reached at mtremoglie@thebulletin.us
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