Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Pubdate: Sat, 05 Sep 1998 Author: Bill Wallace, Chronicle Staff Writer 24-YEAR SMUGGLING SENTENCE UPHELD Court denies appeal in big hashish case A federal appeals court in San Francisco has upheld a Canadian man's 24-year prison sentence for smuggling 70 tons of hashish -- the largest shipment ever seized by U.S. agents. In dismissing the appeal by Canadian real estate dealer Michael Medjuck, the Court of Appeals ruled that U.S. prosecutors had clearly been justified in charging and trying Medjuck in this country, even though the hashish he was smuggling was bound for Canada. In an opinion issued Thursday, the court noted that part of Medjuck's preparations for the smuggling operation had been made in the United States and that a portion of the drug was scheduled to be sold in this country. Medjuck, 48, was convicted in U.S. District Court in San Francisco two years ago. He was taken into custody in Lake County in 1991 during a sting operation in which he attempted to retrieve nearly three tons of the drug from a boat controlled by federal narcotics agents. According to prosecutors, he had obtained 40 tons of the hashish in Afghanistan and had it transported to Pakistan in a camel caravan guarded by Pakistani tribesmen armed with assault rifles. >From Pakistan, the hashish was loaded onto an oceangoing vessel called the >Lucky Star, which took on 30 more tons of the drug in waters off the >Philippine Islands. The ring was broken by undercover agents in Hawaii who were hired by Medjuck for $3.25 million to move the drug into Canada aboard a fishing boat. The undercover agents provided information that allowed federal authorities to intercept the dope-laden Lucky Star in the Pacific in July 1991. After his arrest, Medjuck made local headlines when he asked the court for permission to be ``incarcerated'' until his trial in a posh San Francisco penthouse at his own expense. The request was rejected by U.S. District Judge Eugene Lynch because he considered Medjuck likely to flee. 1998 San Francisco Chronicle Page A23 - --- Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson