There have been two separate cases of Canadian citizens being arrested for attempting to smuggle large amounts of cannabis into the US from Canada.
45-year-old Michael “Mickey” Woods from Cornwall, Ontario has been sentenced to life in prison for the multi-million-dollar smuggling operation he ran. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Woods was sentenced on Thursday in a Syracuse federal court.
The co-defendant in this case is Gaetan Dinelle, from Cornwall as well, and she along with Woods were convicted last July for running a cannabis smuggling operation from their hometown from 2005-2008.
According to prosecutors, Woods obtained huge amounts of cannabis while in Canada and made arrangements with Dinelle to use couriers to sneak the cannabis across the border and then deliver it to buyers in the eastern US. The officials have estimated that this operation smuggled several thousand kilograms of cannabis, which totaled $47 million USD.
Also this week, a Canadian woman was arrested at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge border crossing for trying to bring 50 pounds of cannabis into the US. He hid the 50 pounds of cannabis in a foosball table. She told the border security that she was going to the states to buy Powerball lottery tickets.
The value of the cannabis totaled $60,000 USD. New York State Police has taken the woman into custody after she was caught.