Trucker with ties to biker gang facing 10 years for smuggling pot
SEATTLE -- A Canadian trucker with ties to the Hells Angels is facing a minimum of 10 years in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
Prosecutors say 60-year-old James Postlethwaite was part of a vast criminal organization that smuggled large amounts of marijuana into the United States and cocaine into Canada.
They say the North Vancouver, B.C., man used a hidden compartment in his semi to bring hundreds of pounds of "BC Bud" to a Seattle warehouse.
The drug ring was transporting and selling as many as 2,000 pounds of marijuana each month, according to the US Attorney's Office. The same group was smuggling as many as 100 kilos of coke into Canada every month.
Postlethwaite was arrested in March when he tried to drive a different truck into Idaho. During his three-day trial, testimony revealed the pot belonged to a Canadian chapter of the Hells Angels biker gang.
In addition to Postlethwaite, two dozen other people in the United States and Canada have been charged in the case, and seven have already been sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized more than $2 million in cash and 136 kilograms of cocaine
When he's sentenced in March, Postlethwaite will face a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors say 60-year-old James Postlethwaite was part of a vast criminal organization that smuggled large amounts of marijuana into the United States and cocaine into Canada.
They say the North Vancouver, B.C., man used a hidden compartment in his semi to bring hundreds of pounds of "BC Bud" to a Seattle warehouse.
The drug ring was transporting and selling as many as 2,000 pounds of marijuana each month, according to the US Attorney's Office. The same group was smuggling as many as 100 kilos of coke into Canada every month.
Postlethwaite was arrested in March when he tried to drive a different truck into Idaho. During his three-day trial, testimony revealed the pot belonged to a Canadian chapter of the Hells Angels biker gang.
In addition to Postlethwaite, two dozen other people in the United States and Canada have been charged in the case, and seven have already been sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized more than $2 million in cash and 136 kilograms of cocaine
When he's sentenced in March, Postlethwaite will face a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison.
So he never would have gotten caught if he had used his own thruck?
For a minute there I thought they were going to give away the plot to the next episode of Sons of Anarchy!
@DarkParty ...yeah, me too!...lol
This is one of the reasons why legalization is a good thing. If people can get pot just by walking into a store, it will affect those who sell it on the street.
 @Tattooed_Angel There will still be a market for the street vendors, it is not over and it is still wrong. Legal mj is not better than legal booze and they both get people, both users and providers dead.
 @Tattooed_Angel Very true....
Run someone over while drunk and kill them 3yrs.! Make money delivering coke and weed and get 10yrs. for a victimless crime. Maybe his pals enjoy coke and weed and wish to sell it amongst their organization. Last I checked bikers such as the Hells Angel's don't like to deal with others except their own kind. Therefore it truly was a victimless crime. The Federal Government must be mad because they didn't get their cut pertaining to taxes. whatever.
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 @Funky-Munky If you think smuggling cocaine is a "victimless crime" [sic] then you need to get to know some families of cocaine addicts.
You've just lost a lot of credibility for your cause with that one statement.Â
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 @Funky-Munky Dunno where you are getting your information.  In the State of Washington, vehicular homicide (as it is known when you kill someone during a DUI) is a class A felony, which can get you life imprisonment, but the normal sentencing range is 6.5 to 8.5 years, with many things that can automatically increase that.
 @CommutingGuy You need to do your homework. Look it up on a case by case basis I have. In addition it's posted in the news every so often. Finally consider accumulated "good time" it shaves time off sentencing.
@Funky-Munky I was talking about the law. The minimum sentence for it is 6.5 years as of June.
This guy might face some trouble with the gang connections in prison
So, now that it's legal, he walks, right?
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 @Lake Cle Elum It's only legal to possess an ounce. He had significantly more. Also, he was caught going into Idaho, which would make it illegal either way. Crossing a border the way he did makes it a federal issue anyway, and the Feds still say it's illegal.
 @Lake Cle Elum It's never going to be legal to smuggle marijuana into the country.  That's one of the biggest points of this law, is it gets the marijuana grown and sold locally instead of from illegal and dangerous gangs and dealers.
 @Lake Cle Elum This is a Federal case....and he was caught bringing it into Idaho yet the additional charges are about his trade in Seattle. Regardless, I think even WA wants to cut down on this activity. We dont want smugglers.... we want home grown operations...
 @Susabelle B.C. bud is lame... California, Oregon and Washington State have much better smoke. It must've came down to quantity over quality. Buy local next time. As far as coke goes who wants to chase a five minute high?
 @Susabelle Good night susabelle.... Â
 Well they don't call them Hells Angles for nothing... ha! I am not a fan of organized crime either. Don't do the crime if you can't afford the time. Play stupid games win stupid prizes. @Susabelle
 @Funky-Munky It usually does. I really do not support smuggling and these guys can be very dangerous......I really dont want them involved. If it was just pot.....eh.....but I'm sure they were running more than coke at times too. Besides coke is soooooo 80's. Who knows, maybe in the future there can be legitimate trade between the borders. I still want to keep the criminal element out of the game.
A sixty year old Canadian trucker smuggles POT and gets ten years. AN ILLEGAL gang member smuggles meth, coke , heroin, (U.S. supplied guns "thanks to Holder") AND his whole family lives on the government dole.....with NO consequences. Nice going America. Must be the BIKER part of it. ?
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