Three young Spokane men are learning how serious the federal court system can be. Two friends of a 19-year-old suspected Ecstasy dealer are accused of retaliating against the informant who helped the Drug Enforcement Administration investigate him.

A Canadian man arrested near the international border – allegedly toting 71 pounds of cocaine – may be a major drug smuggler who’s been on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s radar since 2009. Letters from family members of Jonathan Darren Smith, 39, may have helped authorities make the link.

Two men arrested on assault charges last summer were arrested again early Thursday after a traffic stop led to the discovery of cocaine, Ecstasy, marijuana and misdemeanor warrants.

A reputed Canadian gangster who authorities say is responsible for major drug distributions in Eastern Washington has arrived in Spokane to face three-year-old Ecstasy charges. Joseph P. Curry, an associate of imprisoned B.C. drug lord Clay Roueche, pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court on Friday to importation of Ecstasy, possession of Ecstasy with intent to distribute and entry without inspection. He faces a maximum 20 years in federal prison and is being held without bail at the Spokane County Jail, where he was booked Thursday evening.

A new law that takes effect Thursday in Washington aims to encourage people to report drug overdoses.

An international drug ring that led to a young man’s suicide in the Spokane County Jail was headed by four Canadian men, authorities allege, one of whom offered to cooperate if investigators let him continue his operation for a decade. That claim from federal agents, included in recently filed indictments in U.S. District Court in Seattle, led Canadian authorities to warn the would-be informant last month that gangsters could be conspiring to kill him.

An international drug ring that led to a young man’s suicide in the Spokane County Jail was headed by four Canadian men, authorities allege, one of whom offered to cooperate if investigators let him continue his operation for a decade.

Samuel Lindsay-Brown’s popularity in the sport of extreme mountain-biking led to wide attention when he committed suicide in Spokane County Jail in February. Since then, Lindsay-Brown’s story has been told in Rolling Stone and in a documentary on a Canadian television program.