Bismarck Tribune - North Dakota News - Border officials at Pembina seize $1.6 million worth of pot

Border officials at Pembina seize $1.6 million worth of pot

Feb 06, 2008 - 04:05:12 CST

By JAMES MacPHERSON

Associated Press Writer

Federal agents at the Pembina port of entry seized 555 pounds of high-grade marijuana hidden in the floorboards of an otherwise empty semitrailer.

Saturday's seizure was the third-biggest pot bust along the North Dakota border, said Barbara Hassler, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official in Pembina.

"This is significant and a wonderful find," she said.

The highly potent 'B.C. Bud' variety had a street value of about $1.6 million, said Mike Milne, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman in Seattle.

The hydroponically grown Canadian pot fetches between $3,000 and $6,000 a pound on the street - far more than marijuana smuggled from Mexico, Milne said.

"It's the good stuff," he said Tuesday.

The marijuana was hidden in the floorboards of the trailer, in 488 vacuum-packed bags. The tractor-trailer combination, valued at $34,000, also was seized. The driver was questioned and released.

"We couldn't prove he knew anything about it," Milne said.

The marijuana was found after a Customs and Border Protection agent ordered an inspection of the semitrailer by the Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System at the northeastern North Dakota port. The VACIS system uses gamma radiation to scan tractor-trailer shipments for drugs, weapons and illegal aliens.

"It's a great tool," Hassler said.

Last May, agents found 584 pounds of marijuana hidden in the walls of a semitrailer at the Pembina crossing, Milne said.

In 2003, officials seized 1,235 pounds of marijuana at the Portal point of entry, in north central North Dakota, after federal inspectors found it in a semitrailer. The pot, which had a street value of about $3.7 million, was stored in cardboard boxes and duffel bags, and hidden in a shipment of peat moss and planting soil, officials said.

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Printer friendly version Border officials at Pembina seize $1.6 million worth of pot

Comments

to Old Flatulent One wrote on Feb 15, 2008 6:04 PM:

" you have got to get a life this is about pot not lsd, angel dust,& such put your legal
booze down and think about your life--poor guy "

No Common Sense wrote on Feb 15, 2008 5:07 PM:

" Do you know what the most commonly used word in the English language is???
'ere!

Following on topic: PHFFFFFFFFFFT, (passing along) 'ERE!
(It's better in person) "

JB wrote on Feb 15, 2008 2:43 PM:

" To $Menu: You know that's not good for you. Switch to Doritos. And maybe you can scrape for some ressies. "

$menu wrote on Feb 15, 2008 2:37 PM:

" well my past time is sitting on my couch eating cheetos and smoking weed. now i guess i'll just have to eat cheetos. good job boarder patrol. "

No Common Sense wrote on Feb 15, 2008 2:24 PM:

" To: dante wrote on Feb 15, 2008 2:21 PM:
BINGO!

"

dante wrote on Feb 15, 2008 2:21 PM:

" i, myself, long for the days of being on campus, with reefer, guitar, and winsome co-eds.... stupid passing of time!!! "

No Common Sense wrote on Feb 15, 2008 1:54 PM:

" Old Flatulent One wrote on Feb 15, 2008 9:51 AM: You won't catch me being one of those guys hanging out on campus with his "reefer" and his guitar surrounded by winsome young co-eds. No way.

To All: Can anyone please tell me what is terribly wrong with this statement?

"

Sarcastic and suspicious wrote on Feb 15, 2008 1:42 PM:

" What town is that one near Williston with the major mosquito problem. Burn it there and maybe the mosquitoes would forget about reproducing.
Or toss it in the mix used to make gasohol. Have happy cars.
Then there is the fireplace at the local old folks home. Those people do not drive.
Maybe if we mail it to a terrorist training camp they will forget about us?
Perhaps if they put it the same place that big load of pot went that border agents Campeon and Ramos busted. Remember them, they went to prison for shooting a smuggler in the butt with no mention of the pot. They were never charged for taking the pot themselves so obviously the supervisors got the pot. Charging them for not reporting the incident was more than a small stretch of truth. A bunch of supervisors abandoned them, or took the pot for themselves without reporting it? The guy ran across the border, so there was no paperwork about his van or the drugs? How do you dispose of a van without paperwork? At least this northern border bust was a clean one. "

JB wrote on Feb 15, 2008 11:21 AM:

" Hi Mom. They should put it into a giant hookah and then turn on some Zeppelin. Turn it into a winter solstice party. "

Mom wrote on Feb 15, 2008 11:08 AM:

" now that they've confiscated the 555 pounds of pot , what happens with it? Apparently there is no one to charge with it (as I understand the trucker is off the hook) and even if they did charge someone with it...what happens to it after the court process? Does it get burned somewhere? "

Old Flatulent One wrote on Feb 15, 2008 9:51 AM:

" What about those kids on TV who have guns? They know how to drive - right to a drug pusher! When you're "on" dope (as the kids call it), it changes your personality. I've seen people get really quiet or really laugh when they are smoking pot. That just leads to people doing more and more drugs. It won't be so funny to some of you when you overdose on marijuana and jump off a building because you think you can fly. Why do you suppose President Clinton didn't inhale? Because he knew better. You won't catch me being one of those guys hanging out on campus with his "reefer" and his guitar surrounded by winsome young co-eds. No way.

"

LM wrote on Feb 15, 2008 9:42 AM:

" Marijuana can lead to more dangerous drugs, e.g., CIGARETTES!!! Nearly 500,000 Americans die every year because of the governments legal drugs, tobacco products and alcohol. "

harpua wrote on Feb 15, 2008 5:22 AM:

" alcohol is way more dangerous than weed... and it's the true "gateway drug"... "

JB wrote on Feb 14, 2008 9:26 PM:

" To Legalize Drugs?: The only point you are making is one I made several months ago about building a commuter rail system in central and eastern ND to keep people off the highways.

Your gobbledy-gook about gangs and society and prisons is just a way for you to cloud your real agenda, whatever that might be. Right. Walmart needs alert worker bees who buy $4.00 cups of coffee at Starbucks. Society LIKES caffeine. Except for the worker drones who don't yacht in the Bahamas. Give us our ganja!
"

Legalize Drugs? wrote on Feb 14, 2008 6:09 PM:

" To JB and others
Marijuana makes students and others forgetful. Coffee actually helps when taking tests. No one would claim to get as “high” on coffee or cigarettes as on marijuana. No amount of carbon monoxide is good for you. It interferes with the body’s ability to transport oxygen.
Hollywood has an agenda involving sex, violence, alcohol and drugs. Hollywood constantly lies, or changes history for self interest. When you see an old cowboy gunfight in the bar type movie it would have been done with black powder guns and lots of smoke. You would have trouble seeing the actors. And on it goes. So the big problems of the 1800’s involved alcohol and opium and guns. Germs were not discovered and the only “medicines” that made you feel better were actually bad for you. Actually lowered your resistance to germs. So otherwise the really dangerous problem was everyone being armed and many were drunk on something. Now it is our wonderful automobiles not drunks and guns.
There are always people who want people to live longer, and be the best they can be, and others who just do not care.
Overall more people die on the highway than in wars. We should do an extreme job of drug testing everyone who dies on the highway and all who survived a fatal accident.
Our prisons are filling up with drug criminals that commit crimes to afford drugs, or smuggle drugs, or enforce the laws of the drug gang. Anyone who uses illegal drugs are helping support the drug gangs. Anyone who uses drugs knows a pusher personally and protects him by not speaking up.
Probably lots of good reasons why you will never see a drug sniffing dog at the pedestrian or truck entrance to any of this country’s prisons. You win some, and some you never win. Right now we are starting to win a few at the border. "

Moker wrote on Feb 14, 2008 3:57 PM:

" Do your research. Look at the REALITY of how marijuana laws came into being. It was nothing more than a racist witch-hunt sponsored by our ever-loving US Government. THC is about as much of a threat to society as Tylenol or Advil is... "

No Common Sense wrote on Feb 14, 2008 3:49 PM:

" To: Legalize Drugs? And your point is?
Just like alcohol and Xanax and Valium and and and.....
Legalize and control it or go back to Prohibition. "

JB wrote on Feb 14, 2008 3:34 PM:

" To Legalize Drugs?: People also have caffeine withdrawal from over consumption of coffee. What's your point?

Consuming marijuana is its own issue which, again, you are trying to confuse with other behavioral issues. No one is suggesting it is a good idea to get behind the wheel when you are stoned.

"

Legalize Drugs? wrote on Feb 14, 2008 3:20 PM:

" To JB
Marijuana physically alters the way the brain works. Read it again. You must think that people with altered brain cells are safe driving on the highway. Apparently you do not care about the safety of your fellow North Dakota people.
http://www.nida.nih.gov/ResearchReports/Marijuana/Marijuana4.html
When someone smokes marijuana, THC overstimulates the cannabinoid receptors, leading to a disruption of the endogenous cannabinoids' normal function. This overstimulation produces the intoxication experienced by marijuana smokers. Over time, it may alter the function of cannabinoid receptors, which, along with other changes in the brain, can lead to withdrawal symptoms and addiction. "

No Common Sense wrote on Feb 14, 2008 3:04 PM:

" Marijuana should be legalized once and for all. We can control, tax and distribute just like alcohol/tobacco and the government could wipe out our debt in no time. Plus it does have a medical benefit where cigarettes do not. We need to get our thinking out of "Reefer Madness" and grow up. "

JB wrote on Feb 14, 2008 2:51 PM:

" To Legalize Drugs?: I read the articles you cited. They refer to psychological dependence on marijuana (or "Mary Jane"), not physical addiction. Everyone knows that drugs like alcohol, or morphine derivatives, are PHYSICALLY addictive.

No, I would not be in favor of doubling prison sentences in the instances which you mention. Like a good North Dakotan, I have a libertarian bent to me, and I frankly don't give a rat's butt what other people do with their lives or how they raise their kids as long as it doesn't impede my pursuit of "life, liberty and happiness." And don't touch my beer.

"

Legalize Drugs? wrote on Feb 14, 2008 2:44 PM:

" To JB
Would you then be in favor of doubling the prison time for someone under the influence of a combination of drugs, or drugs and alcohol? In some of our bigger states the bars are where a large amount of drug sales occur. Yes they are often drinking beer when they are buying drugs. We could cut it down a bit by requiring security cameras in all bars. Drug testing bartenders would help a little.
"

me wrote on Feb 14, 2008 2:38 PM:

" yet cigarettes are legal and booze is way more addictive. "

Legalize drugs? wrote on Feb 14, 2008 2:30 PM:

" Sorry, marijuana is addictive. Long term users do have withdrawal symptoms. It also is a worse carcinogen than cigarettes. You still suck in carbon monoxide that clogs up the oxygen receptors on red blood cells thus putting a strain on heart. It definitely effects judgement. Put it in a search engine and read whatever you want. Here is a couple.
http://www.nida.nih.gov/ResearchReports/Marijuana/Marijuana4.html
http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/atod/marijuana.htm "

JB wrote on Feb 14, 2008 2:01 PM:

" To Legalize drugs?: Let this be the first of many comments pointing out the absurdity of your statements. (1) Alcohol is a drug as well; (2) Beer is a type of alcohol; (3) This article is about marijuana, not other drugs such as meth or ecstasy and (4) it is medically proven that marijuana is not physically addictive.

Lumping all drugs together and muddying the waters with talk of alcohol abuse is a typical tactic of (1) some old church lady busy-body or (2) a representative of the alcohol industry. Which are you?

"

Legalize drugs? wrote on Feb 14, 2008 1:38 PM:

" Yes, maybe they should legalize marijuana. Drunk drivers only kill about 44 people each day in this country. Hard to know how many are also on drugs. It depends on what area of the country and what side of town. We need better tests and statistics before we legalize anything. There are a few obvious distinctions. Drivers arrested for meth and alcohol are usually doing 90 miles an hour. People smoking marijuana and drinking beer are usually doing about five miles per hour. Easy to tell who is on marijuana by the big smile and glazed over eyes. How can anything that makes people so relaxed and happy be a bad thing?
With ecstasy and beer they take off shirts and touch their skin and other people’s skin with big smiles, really enjoying the skin contact. How could a skin fascination be a problem to others?
Lets put all drug addicts on an island and give them all free drugs. Anyone who can stay drug free for one month can leave. End of problem, no real addict could stay clean 30 days surrounded by free drugs.
"

Ha wrote on Feb 14, 2008 11:52 AM:

" Pot addict? HA! That's like being a caffine free soda addict, its not possible. Pot is a great thing and should be legalized. We should bomb Arab countries with it, who would want to start a Jihad when your high, I'd rather eat a pizza and watch a movie. "

JB wrote on Feb 14, 2008 7:18 AM:

" As I stated in a different post, they should just legalize recreational marijuana and stop this nonsense. Law enforcement should be using their resources for real problems.

Booze causes far more societal problems than weed and everyone knows it. "

To Dakota wrote on Feb 13, 2008 11:27 AM:

" I re read the article. I still can not find in it if they say who found the drugs. "

How its done wrote on Feb 12, 2008 2:55 PM:

" Well, the article only says “hidden in the floorboards of an otherwise empty semitrailer”. So we know it is a “semi” (tractor trailer with a fifth wheel connection). We do not know if the driver was working for a long haul trucking company that only owns trucks, trailers, and continuously contracts to carry loads over computer. As I previously implied the (long haul company) driver is usually the one with the least notice of where a trailer is going. He either unloads his trailer and loads it again or he drops a trailer and hooks up another one. If he pulls the same trailer for two weeks it is unusual. So the fact that there was a place under floorboards is noteworthy. Perhaps there was an access from underneath but the person writing the story found it easier to say “under the floorboards”. The bottom line is that new technology found it and police determined there was no evidence the driver was involved. When a long haul trucking company driver drops or unloads his trailer he then calls in (usually types in on QualComm) the fact that he is empty. Then, in a short period of time he is told of where to pick up his next load (a company dispatcher, looking at his computer, has found him a load nearby and scheduled it for him). In that case only the people who is at the other end (want the load hauled) knows in advance where it is going. Usually the big long haul companies have empty trailers sitting at regular clients lots and they get filled when scheduled. The people with most access are the people in the warehouse who load the trailers. There are also laborers that hang out at many big companies constantly asking drivers if they need help unloading. Assuming the driver is the main suspect is often a big distraction. Drug test dispatchers and warehouse workers? This guy running empty was perhaps going for his next pick-up on this side of border? Or private company running the same routes constantly? "

Osage wrote on Feb 12, 2008 1:36 PM:

" I got papers, if you've got some 'kind!' "

Party wrote on Feb 11, 2008 7:24 PM:

" PARTY IN PEMBINA! "

How its done wrote on Feb 10, 2008 5:46 PM:

" To how does that work? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualcomm
Long haul Truckers usually drop off full trailers then look for the next trailer in the lot they are scheduled to pick up and deliver. The trucker is dispatched by the company he works for on his qualcomm (small computer in truck with satellite hook up). The person in the company that scheduled the load in that trailer knows where it is going ahead of time. Like if you are picking up a load of empty bottle in California and taking them to a company in Texas that is going to fill them with juice, the company selling the bottles knows exactly where the load is going. If the trucker had no full trailer nearby to pick up he would pick of one of his empties to take somewhere. In that case his company knows where the load is going. Hope that helps you out. Any person in private vehicle or trucker going across either border could unknowingly have someone put drugs under your vehicle then follow you across the border. "

how does that work? wrote on Feb 10, 2008 1:49 PM:

" couldn't prove he knew anything about it? He was driving wasn't he? Anybody that I have ever known that got pulled over and had something in their car and didn't know it was there still got in trouble for it and had to prove their innocense in court (which usually not to many people going to court get found innocent) why would this guy be any different? I think that is a crock and makes me wonder how official the customs agents up in pembina really are? I thought these people were supposed to arrest criminals. Give me a break! "

lw wrote on Feb 10, 2008 11:33 AM:

" born2mac - I was wondering the same thing! I guess if you just say "I dunno", they let you walk! :) "

Dakota wrote on Feb 10, 2008 10:04 AM:

" One difference, is the illegals in many cases, try and stay here.
To who found it: read the article maybe before commenting on it. VACIS.. too many for you? "

PO3 wrote on Feb 10, 2008 9:57 AM:

" Last border agents who stopped a mexican drug dealer got 20 years apiece. Don't make our open borders crowd mad or they will put you away, be very afraid border agent who stopped this drug dealer. Thats not acceptable with Bush, Hillary, Obama, or McCain. "

born2mac wrote on Feb 10, 2008 7:26 AM:

" does anyone else think it's a bit odd that the driver of an empty trailer which contained illegal substance packed in the walls was released, because they couldnt prove he knew anything about it. I smell some sort of cheese eating rodent. i got pulled over with a roach "

who found it wrote on Feb 10, 2008 6:25 AM:

" Did the guy who used to be the cop in Morton County find the dope. I know he was a good one when he worked in Mandan with the dog and everything. Why don't they tell us who found the drugs. "

LAUGHING wrote on Feb 9, 2008 11:12 PM:

" I'm laughing because this is pretty good,for those of you that would really like to know is that most illegal aliens that do carry drugs across the southern borders are'nt carrying pot-their carrying meth,coke or heroin, most are carrying the drugs for payment to the coyotes-mexican pot does'nt have that much street value so now you might just want stop the flow of traffic on the southern borders. "

Drugs are good? wrote on Feb 9, 2008 10:32 PM:

" http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080209/A_NEWS/802090324 Some who post here think drugs are good. Drugs are really good stuff all right. Stockton California has only had eight killings so far this year. Last year by this time it was only six. Somehow the use of drugs, transportation or sale of drugs is always involved. Violating some drug gangs selling territory is most common. It is why the drug salesmen are moving to the midwest where it is safer. "

Tommy wrote on Feb 9, 2008 7:20 AM:

" Thank god.. I will sleep so much better at night knowing that my kids are smoking Mexican mary jane instead of the good canandian stuff... my lord... so what!! What is the big deal here?? why not legalize it and tax it.. you didnt stop anybody from smoking grass oh mighty border patrol.. they just get it from somebody else. 1000s of pot heads running rampant in the streets. pure hysteria . The only problem it presents is that we might run short of doritos or twinkies. nobody sells there body for grass or robs banks for grass..... "

Yawn wrote on Feb 8, 2008 7:39 PM:

" This article made me laugh. They got 500+ pounds last May and 500+ pounds this month. Big deal. They didn't do anything to stop the supply from coming. Just that one shipment.. or two I guess. Super good job guys! wow! The government will never win the war on drugs, its just all about money now. "

eddifiedtavous wrote on Feb 8, 2008 12:16 PM:

" I think we need to be paying more attention to the southern border rather than the northern border. Too many illegal immigrants are crossing the southern border. I'd rather have bud in my country than someone who doesn't speak english.

No I'm not against immigration, I just think it should be done legally. Apply to get into the US, and learn the language. I work as a cashier and honestly, we have many non-english speaking people shopping. They get frustrated and rude because we can't provide great service because we can't understand them. Sorry, not our fault. Your in America, expect people to communicate to you in english. "

old guy wrote on Feb 8, 2008 6:04 AM:

" to timo, They carry the drugs as payment to the guys that get them over the border. Have you not ever heard of a coyota. These guys use people like mules. It is easier to get some one to carry the stuff then to put it in a vechile. People that want to get into the USA sarrying drugs are let go most of the time. If they get cuaght and run they are not chased. Look at waht happened to he two border guards taht shot the one dealer in the rearend. They lost thier jobs and end up in jail. What does that say to al the mules that come overthe border. "

The Oldest Baddest Yote there EVER was wrote on Feb 8, 2008 5:10 AM:

" to Timo - The Mexicans crossing the border aren't hopping the border with drugs for their own personal use. The drugs are the only thing they can easily carry such great distances, and exchange for money. It takes about 11 pesos to equal a dollar, so you won't get too far through the cactus trying to pack pesos. Don't forget that you have to hide your pesos or you'll get robbed. Where are you going to put them? Your indignant paragraph is so far from reality, that I'm sure if you had to cross the border, there would be an empty rail car parked in the blazing sun with your name on it. "

Good Riddance wrote on Feb 7, 2008 8:50 PM:

" To Run DMC: Delta's ready when you are! "

what the? wrote on Feb 7, 2008 1:07 PM:

" TImo,
Nice thought. The Mexican trucker goes to jail. That's the reality. "

Timo wrote on Feb 7, 2008 1:04 PM:

" To 'What the?'...in all fairness....the trucker's are often released as the evidence requires 'chain of custody' and proof that they knew about it. Often they don't and are used unwittlingly. Trucker's often just pick up loads and not involved in loading-unloading. "

what the? wrote on Feb 7, 2008 12:08 PM:

" Do you think a Mexican bringing that amount of marijuana into the United States from Mexico would be released without being charged? I guess there might just be a double standard within the justice system when it comes to the prosecution of White Canadians (I'm making an assumption here) as opposed to Mexicans and Blacks. "

Timo wrote on Feb 7, 2008 12:05 AM:

" Bite outta grime......half are carrying illegal drugs to sell??....way off the mark...mexicans not into drugs like americans....upwards to 98 percent of them come here to find work and get ahead and are scared shytless of getting involved with anything to do with dope. They don't smoke it or whatever. The average mexacan will not spend his/her precious money on tobacco much less pot.
Easier to get weed than dollars in mexico?
Administration official is a closet stoner for making these announcements?
Where are you coming up with these numbers and 'cliches'? Are they official or some prejudiced statement?
Then you go on to blast anyone involved in Border Patrol for not questioning these 'off the wall, from left field' prejudicial staements. Discrepancy or nonsense of teaching hatred?
Yes I'm nuetral...just blasting your nonsense statements you pulled out of a hat.
I know mexico well and your statements are ignorant.
"

Run DMC wrote on Feb 6, 2008 11:28 AM:

" That makes me ill to my stomach...Imagine how many children will suffer and starve now that their parent's income was seized at the border. And imagine how many others will suffer because our government is run by a bunch of hypocrites who just cannot wait to get their hands "the good stuff". Im moving to Canada! "

What? wrote on Feb 6, 2008 11:22 AM:

" recovering from "Pot Addiction?' give me a break! "

Still Recovering wrote on Feb 6, 2008 9:32 AM:

" I think this is a magnificent bust. i am a recovering addict with 212 days clean and I wish they could get it all "

Moker wrote on Feb 6, 2008 9:17 AM:

" I'd rather see Mexicans siezed at the Mexican border than BC Bud siezed at the Canadian border. We all know which poses a greater threat to America. "

Take a bite outta grime wrote on Feb 6, 2008 6:33 AM:

" "This is significant and a wonderful find," - Barbara Hassler, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official in Pembina. Spoken like a closet stoner. 300,000 illegal aliens cross the southern US border each month. Half of them are carrying illegal drugs to resell at profit, since drugs are easier to get in Mexico than US dollars. How can anyone participate in the Border Patrol without questioning their superiors about this discrepancy? "

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