Massive Ecstasy bust lands 3 Canadians in jail
By CLAIR JOHNSON
Of The Gazette Staff
Three Canadians face federal drug charges - and the possibility of long stretches in prison - after a traffic stop near Glendive last week led to about $5 million worth of the illegal drug Ecstasy.
Federal prosecutors say the three men smuggled about 145 pounds of the drug, a stimulant and hallucinogen, across the U.S.-Canada border into North Dakota on a snowmobile. At least 200,000 Ecstasy tablets were seized, said Travis Pitts, a Laurel police officer and special agent with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Pitts testified during a preliminary hearing Friday in U.S. District Court.
Ecstasy sells on the street for about $25 a pill, Pitts said, making the seizure worth about $5 million. Pitts called the 200,000-pill figure "a low estimate."
Magistrate Judge Carolyn Ostby ruled there was sufficient evidence to hold the three pending further investigation. They are Timothy M. Morneau, 31, Christian D. Laurin, 19, and Alan James Mulder, 19, all of Winnipeg, Manitoba. A criminal complaint charges the three with conspiracy to possess Ecstasy for distribution and possession with intent to distribute. If convicted, they face a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison and a $4 million fine. The case will be submitted to a grand jury for indictment.
According to the complaint, a Montana Highway Patrol trooper stopped a vehicle for having a headlight out on Interstate 94 near Glendive at 7:50 a.m. on Feb. 9. Inconsistent statements by the three men prompted the trooper to ask for consent to search the vehicle. Mulder, the registered owner, consented.
While at the MHP office in Glendive, Morneau told the trooper that he had hauled three duffel bags across the Canadian border using a snowmobile and that the bags were too heavy for marijuana. Troopers opened one of the duffel bags and found heat-sealed packages filled with multicolored tablets. The officers stopped the search and sought help from the Montana Department of Justice. The three men were arrested on charges of criminal possession with intent to distribute and were held in Dawson County.
Law enforcement officers obtained state court search warrant for the vehicle and duffel bags. A field test of one of the tablets indicated Ecstasy, the complaint said.
In a recorded interview after being advised of his rights, Morneau said Laurin and Mulder knowingly participated in the trafficking and that he was to pay them $1,000 each from the $5,000 he was getting paid for the trip. He said he left the snowmobile north of Bottineau, N.D. Law enforcement officers recovered the snowmobile.
The charges add to the legal troubles of Morneau, a self-employed mechanic. According to the Winnipeg Free Press, which cited court documents, Morneau was arrested last May after Winnipeg police stopped a car in which he was a passenger and seized 76 Percocet pills and 30 rocks of crack cocaine.
Jim Tilley, DEA's resident agent in charge in Billings, said Friday that the seizure was believed to be one of the largest for Ecstasy in the state. A bust near Sweetgrass netted 100,000 tablets.
Ecstasy tablets typically are packaged in pound quantities, Tilley said. The drug is manufactured for about $3 a pill by labs in Canada and in Amsterdam. Tilley said large quantities of Ecstasy usually are headed to the West Coast for distribution.
By CLAIR JOHNSON
Of The Gazette Staff
Three Canadians face federal drug charges - and the possibility of long stretches in prison - after a traffic stop near Glendive last week led to about $5 million worth of the illegal drug Ecstasy.
Federal prosecutors say the three men smuggled about 145 pounds of the drug, a stimulant and hallucinogen, across the U.S.-Canada border into North Dakota on a snowmobile. At least 200,000 Ecstasy tablets were seized, said Travis Pitts, a Laurel police officer and special agent with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Pitts testified during a preliminary hearing Friday in U.S. District Court.
Ecstasy sells on the street for about $25 a pill, Pitts said, making the seizure worth about $5 million. Pitts called the 200,000-pill figure "a low estimate."
Magistrate Judge Carolyn Ostby ruled there was sufficient evidence to hold the three pending further investigation. They are Timothy M. Morneau, 31, Christian D. Laurin, 19, and Alan James Mulder, 19, all of Winnipeg, Manitoba. A criminal complaint charges the three with conspiracy to possess Ecstasy for distribution and possession with intent to distribute. If convicted, they face a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison and a $4 million fine. The case will be submitted to a grand jury for indictment.
According to the complaint, a Montana Highway Patrol trooper stopped a vehicle for having a headlight out on Interstate 94 near Glendive at 7:50 a.m. on Feb. 9. Inconsistent statements by the three men prompted the trooper to ask for consent to search the vehicle. Mulder, the registered owner, consented.
While at the MHP office in Glendive, Morneau told the trooper that he had hauled three duffel bags across the Canadian border using a snowmobile and that the bags were too heavy for marijuana. Troopers opened one of the duffel bags and found heat-sealed packages filled with multicolored tablets. The officers stopped the search and sought help from the Montana Department of Justice. The three men were arrested on charges of criminal possession with intent to distribute and were held in Dawson County.
Law enforcement officers obtained state court search warrant for the vehicle and duffel bags. A field test of one of the tablets indicated Ecstasy, the complaint said.
In a recorded interview after being advised of his rights, Morneau said Laurin and Mulder knowingly participated in the trafficking and that he was to pay them $1,000 each from the $5,000 he was getting paid for the trip. He said he left the snowmobile north of Bottineau, N.D. Law enforcement officers recovered the snowmobile.
The charges add to the legal troubles of Morneau, a self-employed mechanic. According to the Winnipeg Free Press, which cited court documents, Morneau was arrested last May after Winnipeg police stopped a car in which he was a passenger and seized 76 Percocet pills and 30 rocks of crack cocaine.
Jim Tilley, DEA's resident agent in charge in Billings, said Friday that the seizure was believed to be one of the largest for Ecstasy in the state. A bust near Sweetgrass netted 100,000 tablets.
Ecstasy tablets typically are packaged in pound quantities, Tilley said. The drug is manufactured for about $3 a pill by labs in Canada and in Amsterdam. Tilley said large quantities of Ecstasy usually are headed to the West Coast for distribution.
