Portland Traffickers Busted On Return From Arcata

The Daily Triplicate reports that two Portland, Oregon men were jailed in Del Norte County after being stopped for speeding through a 55 mph zone at 70 mph near Crescent City.

The CHP officer that pulled them over quickly discovered four and half pounds of pot in loosely contained plastic bags in the trunk, and arrested Jeremey Ellet and Ian Kendrick for possession and transportation of marijuana for sale.

Apparently these guys didn't read the New Yorker story which described how, even here in the State of California where marijuana is essentially legal, "couriers" (as the article calls them) routinely triple seal their goods using a vacuum food sealer before driving it from Humboldt County to Southern California.

Better luck next time, Portlanders! We're wondering if they will roll over on the Arcata grow op where the 4.5 lbs. came from in order to avoid a 5 year stint for trafficking. Just so you know, that quantity of pot is worth about $17,000 in a place like Portland, and that's the bulk price. Street value is probably more like $25,000, assuming a price of $350 per ounce.

In other news, an anonymous tipster reports that a 4-car convoy of feds was spotted heading into Eureka from the south last night around 9 p.m. The tip says that 2 newer SUVs and 1 Chevy pickup truck were followed up by a blacked out Ford Explorer. None of the vehicles had any unusual markings, and they all had normal California plates with registration stickers (not CA Exempt). The giveaway was that they traveled in a tight pack in the fast lane at approx. 80 mph, and they did not allow other cars to pass at faster speeds, even physically blocking one motorist from passing in the right lane at a high rate of speed. The black Explorer bringing up the rear swerved in front of the speeding civilian vehicle, braked hard, then turned on his fed lights to warn that driver to stay back. The flashing lights were built into the tail lights, and the vehicle was otherwise totally unmarked.

We wonder if further federal investigations are currently underway in the marijuana growing community of Humboldt County, where citizens are calling for a crackdown and the Bush administration has personally offered to help if invited.