6 years in federal prison for Canadian pot pusher

Published 10:55 pm Thursday, July 30, 2009

A Canadian car salesman who oversaw transportation for a multimillion-dollar drug trafficking ring that used Snohomish County as a shipment hub was sentenced Thursday to more than six years in federal prison.

Devron Quast, 40, of Abbotsford, B.C., is accused of being one of the leaders of a criminal operation with ties to the Hells Angels that smuggled tons of potent B.C. Bud marijuana in hollowed-out logs, loads of lumber and plastic drain pipes. The dope was sent to places such as Stanwood and Arlington and then shipped across the country.

The organization’s U.S. transportation group was based in Snohomish County, said special assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Cornell. Large shipments of marijuana came into the county and were redistributed all over the U.S., he said.

An Oregon man who was arrested in connection with the smuggling ring admitted that he parked a trailer in Stanwood for others to load with marijuana. He drove the pot across the U.S., delivering the dope to Chicago and New York. He was stopped in Wyoming carrying more than $3.3 million in cash in his Dodge pickup.

The same group was responsible for a stash of marijuana discovered at a Stanwood rest area in 2006. Police found 1,700 packages sandwiched in a load of 15-foot-long plastic pipes.

The Snohomish County hub also received cocaine from California and helped smuggle the drugs into Canada, Cornell said.

Quast was arrested in June 2008, along with the suspected kingpin, Robert Shannon, also of British Columbia. Shannon was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison earlier this year.

Quast pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana and conspiracy to engage in money laundering. He admitted he was a leader in the group, overseeing the daily operations of the transportation network. He provided insurance to suppliers, agreeing to pay them a fee for marijuana seized or lost during transportation into the U.S. He also provided co-conspirators with cell phones and other equipment and recruited new distributors for the organization.

While coordinating the transportation of drugs, Quast worked as the general manager at his father’s car dealership, Don Quast Hyundai in Canada.

“The skills that once made Mr. Quast a successful and prosperous businessman were tragically deployed to further a vast drug trafficking enterprise,” Cornell said Thursday.

Prosecutors have charged 40 people in connection with the smuggling ring. About half of those people are from Snohomish County.

The three-year investigation was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force.

Investigators have seized more than 7,000 pounds of marijuana, 1,700 pounds of cocaine and about $3.5 million.

“The investigation is ongoing into the organization, particularly those targets who remain in Canada,” Cornell said.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.