Drug-smuggling operation busted

The drugs came across the border in hollowed-out logs and backpacks, in secret compartments in motor homes and concealed in false walls of cargo containers — huge shipments of marijuana and cocaine owned by the Hells Angels and distributed by a British Columbia-based smuggling operation that federal prosecutors in Seattle say they have cracked.

Five men appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Friday, hours after agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) followed a load of "B.C. Bud" marijuana across the border and raided a Bellingham warehouse.

Arrested Thursday night outside Bob's Burger and Brew in Ferndale, Whatcom County, were Robert Shannon, 38, of Maple Ridge, B.C., and Devron Quast, 38, of Abbotsford, B.C. Shannon is described in a federal indictment as the "principal overseer of the North American narcotics transportation group" for the Hells Angels in Canada.

Quast, the general manager at an Abbotsford car dealership, worked with Shannon running the day-to-day operations of the drug ring, the indictment says. The operation was so sophisticated that Quast would offer marijuana sellers insurance that their crop would make it to the U.S. for distribution or he'd pay them $425 for every pound of marijuana confiscated, according to court papers.

The men were arrested after allegedly meeting with an undercover ICE agent who claimed he bribed a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent to get a load of marijuana into the U.S.

The drugs were allowed to pass through the border, but they were tracked by agents to Bellingham, where three others were arrested and nearly 350 pounds of marijuana and $50,000 in cash were seized.

The drugs were destined for Los Angeles and Baltimore, according to court documents, and the money was half of what was promised to the undercover agent for his role in getting the drugs across the border.

Over the course of the three-year investigation, agents from ICE, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and others seized more than 1,300 pounds of cocaine, 7,000 pounds of B.C. Bud and nearly $3.5 million in cash. In all, 38 people have been charged, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle.

Agents interdicted drug shipments on their way to Ohio, California, Montana, New York and Washington, said Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Cornell.

One alleged member of the organization, Rusty Boschee, was recently sentenced to five years in prison after he was arrested in Wyoming carrying $3.3 million in cash after delivering a load of marijuana to New York.

Eight others have been charged:

• Phillip Stone, 45, of Abbotsford, accused of procuring containers and trailers to transport drugs. Stone remains a fugitive in Canada, Cornell said.

• Richard Jansen, 33, of Chilliwack, B.C. Jansen is owner of Scorpion Transport Services. His trucks were used in smuggling activities, and he was allegedly driving the truck seized in Bellingham on Thursday night, Cornell said.

• Jesse Holmes, 64, of Blaine, owned the Bellingham warehouse and was arrested at the scene, the prosecutor said.

• Tomohisa Kawabata, 34, of Vancouver, B.C., paid $3.3 million for a load of marijuana delivered to New York. The money was later seized by federal agents in Wyoming. He remains a fugitive.

• Todd Gabriel, 41, of Everett, is accused of delivering marijuana to Western Washington and California. He is a fugitive.

• Chance Gerrior, of Arlington, allegedly allowed his property to be used to store marijuana. He is a fugitive.

• Korinne Doggett, of Arlington, allegedly allowed marijuana to be stored in her home. Cornell said she will be allowed to surrender to authorities.

• John Fairweather, a Canadian citizen, was at the warehouse and is alleged to have been involved in the distribution of the load of drugs.

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com