Airborne smugglers link B.C. pot growers and U.S. distributors

BELLINGHAM — About two years ago, hikers, fishermen and park rangers began complaining of mysterious helicopters zooming through the still bliss of the North Cascades forests.

Then the choppers started landing amid campsites.

The flights were not so mysterious, according to federal agents. The helicopters were stuffed with hundreds of pounds of potent Canadian marijuana destined for the lucrative market along the Interstate 5 corridor.

U.S. and Canadian law-enforcement officials Thursday revealed the existence of a large-scale airborne smuggling scheme on the northern border. They have intercepted four tons of pot, 800 pounds of cocaine and $1.5 million in cash, and at least 46 people have been arrested in the United States and Canada.

Agents described a brazen smuggling operation that turned the Pasayten Wilderness Area and other isolated forest lands into air smuggling corridors.

The two-year investigation had potential national-security significance, raising concern among federal agencies that smugglers could be flying in terrorists or weapons.

"A scheme of this magnitude is a stark reminder about why we must be vigilant with our borders," said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Julie Myers.

Tons of dope

But "Operation Frozen Timber" did not find terrorists or weapons of mass destruction amid the tons of dope.

Instead, it likely slowed the work of so-called "transportation brokers," who linked British Columbia's booming pot-growing industry with American distributors.

The marijuana industry in British Columbia alone was estimated at $7 billion by Forbes magazine, making it the most lucrative agricultural product of Canada. The Canadian RCMP estimate there are about 20,000 grow operations in British Columbia.

The smugglers, after dropping their marijuana load, would return over the border loaded with cocaine and cash, authorities said.

The biggest catches appear to be Seattle resident Robert Kesling, who pleaded guilty to drug trafficking last year and is serving 17 years in prison, and Canadian Daryl Desjardins, a 45-year-old pilot facing drug-trafficking charges in his country.

Still looking

Many of those arrested were "catchers" on the American side, ferrying loads from drop sites to distribution points in the Seattle area, according to criminal indictments in the case.

"We have not stopped looking, but what we have at this point is people involved in transportation," said John McKay, U.S. Attorney in Seattle. "We're working upwards and downwards [the organizational structure] from there."

Canadian-grown marijuana, called B.C. Bud, is famed for its purity and potency. At its peak in popularity, it was traded nearly pound for pound with cocaine in Los Angeles, but prices have dropped to about $3,000 per pound wholesale.

With such potential profits, airborne smuggling is simply a new evolution in an old business. Investigators say post-9/11 border tightening restricted traditional methods, including backpack loads of pot hiked across the border in rugged areas. Last year, federal agents found a 360-foot, cross-border tunnel near Blaine built by smugglers for $1 million.

"First they tried to go through us, then they tried to go around us, then they tried to go under us, now they try going over us," said Leigh Winchell, Seattle's special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Winchell noted that the targets of Operation Frozen Timber closely resembled a smuggling operation detailed in a story last year in Playboy magazine. Smugglers boasted of making $20 million a year — after expenses — and of being "better than Fed Ex."

"We pick up anywhere in the lower mainland and deliver anywhere in the state of Washington," a man referred to as Gentleman Jim told the magazine's reporter.

"I'd be lying if I said we didn't take it as affront," Winchell said of the story. "It takes a certain amount of bravado to be in this industry. They're in it as much for the thrill as for anything, but they also make a good amount of money."

Drops videotaped

Customs agents, working with Canadian counterparts, videotaped several drops in Okanogan County. Black-and-white images show a helicopter landing in a field next to a pickup and dumping a load so quickly that the rotors never slowed. The biggest intercepted load was nearly 1,000 pounds — worth about $3 million wholesale.

The most recent bust happened last month, when customs agents and Canadian police followed a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter flying south from Harrison Hot Springs in British Columbia to Conconcully Lake, a rugged, remote spot north of Twisp. Henry P. Roman of Seattle and James N. Burgland of Centralia were arrested as they allegedly drove away with 320 pounds of marijuana.

There were other risks: Two helicopters crashed in British Columbia in 2005, killing three people, including two believed to be returning from a drop in Washington.

Despite Operation Frozen Timber's success, law-enforcement officials said they expected smugglers to adapt and likely shift routes farther east.

"The border is like a balloon," said James McDevitt, U.S. Attorney in Spokane. "You squeeze one spot and it pops up in another."

Seattle Times staff researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report.

Jonathan Martin: 206-464-2605 or jmartin@seattletimes.com