SEATTLE, March 24 (UPI) -- Canadian and U.S. officials announced they busted a drug smuggling ring that allegedly swapped cocaine for marijuana flown into the United States by helicopter.
Nine people were arrested in the investigation code-named Operation Blade Runner and more than 80 kilos of cocaine and 600 pounds of Canadian-grown marijuana were seized, the U.S. Attorney's office in Seattle said Tuesday.
The arrests took place on both sides of the border and involved the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and U.S. agents in Washington, Utah and Idaho.
Two of those arrested were British Columbia helicopter pilots who were nabbed when they allegedly landed in remote areas of Washington and northern Idaho with cargoes of so-called B.C. Bud marijuana.
U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Sullivan said in a written statement that Operation Blade Runner had its origins in a 2007 investigation into ecstasy trafficking in western Washington. A suspect who was tied to that investigation was arrested in Salt Lake City last month during a traffic stop during which 83 kilos of cocaine was seized. Investigators learned that the cocaine was intended to be traded for the marijuana.
