2.5 years for hiding pot in cattle trailer

Published 11:43 pm Thursday, July 16, 2009

SEATTLE — A British Columbia man accused of smuggling nearly a ton of marijuana under a load of cows was sentenced Thursday to 2 1/2 years in federal prison.

Edwin R. Fuller, 40, was arrested in February after border officers discovered more than $6 million worth of marijuana hidden under the floor of the cattle trailer. The two dozen head of cattle were destined for Stanwood.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Blaine used a gamma X-ray machine to examine the trailer and truck. The scan revealed some inconsistencies in the lower and upper decks of the trailer, according to agents.

Bags of potent “B.C. Bud” marijuana were stuffed in hidden compartments beneath cow manure and urine.

Fuller pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Investigators believe Fuller had smuggled dope across the border on numerous occasions.

“When you are paid $20,000 to drive across the border, you know there are drugs in there,” U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Zilly said.

“This is a serious crime and there are serious consequences.”

Police in Snohomish County in 2006 discovered nearly a ton of smuggled marijuana at a Stanwood weigh station. The dope was hidden in 15-foot plastic pipes loaded on a big rig.

The marijuana was later tied to a multimillion-dollar drug smuggling ring. The traffickers transported dope in hollowed-out logs, false compartments in cargo containers and propane tanks.