Playboy profiles B.C. pot smuggler - Article describes B.C. bud sent by helicopter to Washington state
By: Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun (CN BC), 06-03-05


VANCOUVER - One Vancouver-area pot smuggler says he is making $100,000 US a week shipping B.C. bud to the U.S. by a helicopter, according to a story in the July issue of Playboy magazine, expected on newsstands today.

That's "more than two of of the 23 guys who skated for the 2003-2004 Vancouver Canucks," the story says.

The smuggler is identified only as The Prez in the article, titled High in the Rocky Mountains, by Robert Sabbag, author of the book Snowblind, which examined the cocaine industry in the 1970s.

The writer details how a helicopter landed about 60 kilometres north of the border and picked up six hockey bags containing about 250 pounds of high-grade B.C. marijuana.

The copter passed over Harrison Lake and transferred its load to a waiting pickup truck in Washington state, touching down for less than a minute.

The pilot was asked what would happen if he was chased by a U.S. helicopter patrolling the border as part of the anti-drug and counter-terrorism efforts.

"If you fuel up last, you win," the pilot replied, shrugging.

The smuggling crew said it might do as many as three trips a day, flying close to the tops of trees to stay off the radar of U.S. authorities.

B.C. pot wholesales for $2,900 US a pound in Seattle, $4,000 in Las Vegas and $4,500 in Atlanta, the article says.

The writer interviewed another member of the smuggling venture who estimated the operation was making about $400,000 US a week, after expenses.

The story cites a previous estimate by Forbes magazine that B.C.'s marijuana industry is worth $7 billion a year, making it Canada's largest cash crop.

© 2005 H.U.M.A.N.: Hemp Users Medical Access Network - Toronto Medical Marijuana