Border Marijuana Bust A Record Seized Bags Yield 300 Pounds Worth $500,000; One Man Arrested, But At Least Two Escape

Authorities chalked up a record Thursday when they intercepted $250,000 worth of high-grade marijuana in three hockey bags being smuggled across the Canadian border near Metaline Falls, Wash. Then they found three more bags.

At 300 pounds and an estimated street value of $500,000, it was by far the largest pot bust in Pend Oreille County’s history.

Deputy Prosecutor Tony Koures said the additional hockey bags were found in the woods near Crescent Lake, in the same general area where three suspects dropped the first three bags while fleeing from officers. Two of the suspects got away, but one was caught.

That man - who identified himself as Jeffrey Scott Dermott, 22, of Sicamous, British Columbia - made a preliminary appearance Friday in District Court. His bail was set at $50,000, and he remained in the county jail on suspicion of felony possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.

Koures said authorities still aren’t sure the suspect is who he says he is. Sheriff Doug Malby said no driver’s license records could be found for Dermott.

Whoever the suspect is, he will be arraigned Thursday in Superior Court unless the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Spokane decides to prosecute the case in federal court. Federal drug penalties are more severe than the state’s.

Malby said one or more suspects in a vehicle are believed to have been working with the three men who were spotted hauling the giant duffel bags through the woods to avoid the border station just north of Metaline Falls. A witness saw a red or maroon Dodge sport utility vehicle turn around at the search area and head back to British Columbia while officers were beating the bushes.

The suspects were first spotted Thursday morning by Border Patrol agents, who were quickly joined by other federal agents, sheriff’s deputies and the Metaline and Ione town marshals. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police brought in a helicopter and tracking dogs.

When officers caught up with the suspects, they abandoned the three bags they were carrying and fled. As the search continued into the evening, three more of the 4-foot-long bags were found stashed in the woods. Koures said authorities believe the suspects brought those bags first and then went back for more.

He said each of the hockey bags contained about 50 pounds of marijuana, all of it packaged in 1-1/4-pound plastic bags. Malby said the quality of the pot was high: all buds, no stems.

Another hockey bag with about 25 pounds of marijuana was found in the same area in May, but no suspect was identified in that case.

Until Thursday, Pend Oreille County’s record bust for processed marijuana was 50 pounds of low-quality material seized about five years ago.