Pubdate: Wed, 28 May 2003 Source: Boston Herald (MA) Copyright: 2003 The Boston Herald, Inc Contact: http://www.bostonherald.com/news.html Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53 Author: Dave Wedge Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular) CANADA ROLLING IN HIGH-GRADE POT A hijacked truck found on the Massachusetts Turnpike hauling $3 million of super-powered homegrown marijuana is just the tip of the iceberg of high grade ``hydro'' weed slipping across the Canadian border and into the Bay State, officials say. A hijacked truck found on the Massachusetts Turnpike hauling $3 million of super-powered homegrown marijuana is just the tip of the iceberg of high grade ``hydro'' weed slipping across the Canadian border and into the Bay State, officials say. ``They're masking it in legitimate loads (of merchandise) and it's destined for New England,'' said Sgt. John Brooks of the state police narcotics inspection unit. Police say the pair, both natives of India with valid Ontario driver's licenses and Canadian work visas, fought off the masked thieves who commandeered the truck at gunpoint on the Pike westbound near Exit 12. During the melee, the truck rumbled off the road and slammed into trees in the woods. Witnesses told cops they saw masked gunmen run from the wreck and hop into a white van that sped off. The hijackers, who were still at large last night, spoke Chinese, Chahal told police. According to their lawyer, Geoffrey G. Nathan, Chahal and Cheema didn't know there were drugs in the trailer. Both were ordered held on $150,000 cash bail after their arraignment yesterday in Framingham District Court. Police say the pair drove the pot-packed rig from Toronto and were supposedly en route to North Carolina to deliver a load of industrial paper rolls for Ontario Inc., a trucking company. Ontario Inc. officials told police the pair had no business in Massachusetts. When asked why they were in the Boston area, Cheema and Chahal told investigators they were ``lost,'' Trooper Paul Belanger said. The ``Canadian hydro,'' which was being smuggled in boxes and trash bags, is grown using high-powered lighting in specially equipped warehouses in Canada, Brooks said. The technique maximizes the potency of the cannabis plant's buds and increases the level of THC - marijuana's active ingredient. While organically grown marijuana imported from Mexico sells for between $1,000 and $2,000 per pound, the Canadian strain fetches $5,000 a pound on the streets. ``It's much more potent than the Mexican stuff. It's of a very high-grade,'' Brooks said. In addition to this weekend's bust, state cops have seized two other Canadian truckloads of weed recently, including one stashed in a load of furniture, Brooks said. Besides funneling industrial grown Canadian pot into the region, some dealers are flying their drugs to Canada and then driving it over the northern border, rather than risk losing it at the historically tighter Mexican border.``We've seen it a lot lately,'' Brooks said. But U.S. Customs officials say the border is being tightened daily, especially since the Sept. 11 terror attacks. More high-tech monitoring equipment is in use and staffing has been increased, which has allowed for stricter scrutiny and more vehicle searches. ``The Canadian and American governments have been working very closely to heighten security at that border,'' said Customs spokesman James Michie. ``It's getting better and better every day.'' Federal officials have hinted at a further clampdown as Canadian authorities take steps to decriminalize marijuana. A bill pending in the Canadian legislature would fine people for pot possession and reduce criminal penalties against those growing up to 25 marijuana plants. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh